Waiting for the Worms
by Samadhir
Summary: Taking place shortly after the end of Highwing's "The Shrew War", this story follows two beasts, a shrew sergeant and a woodland rat, through an eventful day in the aftermath of a very important decision made by Urthblood.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

_Greetings, fellow fanfictioneers! In honour of the posting of the final chapter of Highwing's The Shrew War, I have decided to put a story I wrote earlier this spring, another fic I wrote based on his work, here on . This was originally written as a single continuous short story, but for it's posting on this site I've decided to break it into four chapters. Since this story is already complete, you won't have to wait for months to read it all; it will be posted over the coming days leading up to Christmas. _

_It takes place shortly after the end of The Shrew War, and contains MASSIVE spoilers for it. As such, if you haven't read that novel (which can be found here: _.net/s/7242385/1/The_Shrew_War_Book_I_A_Fire_in_the_Night_Sky) and_ don't want to have major plot twists revealed to you, I suggest you read that book before this short story. _

_As I mentioned, I wrote this story before I had conceived of my Wolfrum fic, shortly after I first got into contact with Highwing, who in fact provided the suggestion that I should write a story based on his work in order to achieve a greater connection with his world. Keep in mind that this is the first lengthy English-language story I wrote, and unlike "Wolfrum", this hasn't been edited by Wing. As such, the writing will be a lot more amateurish, and the dialogue will be done without any accents; while Wing is a master of getting the accents from the BJ novels done perfectly, I could never have made it look passable on my own. But I hope you will still enjoy it, and regard it as a sort-of-continuation of TSW, though it's rather unclear how well it fits with the canon of the Urthblood Saga. It's a beginner's work, but I'm still rather proud of it. _

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_You cannot reach me now_

_ No matter how you try_

_ Goodbye cruel world, it's over_

_ Walk on by…_

_ Sitting in a bunker here behind my wall_

_ Waiting for the worms to come_

_ In perfect isolation here behind my wall_

_ Waiting for the worms to come…_

**Pink Floyd, "The Wall"**

Gavin had been waiting at the pier for almost a day when he finally spotted the two searat ships on the horizon.

The shrew had arrived the previous morning along with a contingent of about seventy troops, a mix of Northlander shrews and squirrels of the Gawtrybe tribe, under the orders of Lord Urthblood, the crimson Badgerlord of Salamandastron and the de-facto ruler of the lands of Mossflower, as the reception party for their former mortal enemies: the pirates, corsairs and slave-trader rats in the employ of King Tratton, the ruler of the maritime Searat Empire.

The fact that the two sides could meet together like this on (relatively) peaceful terms at all was rather extraordinary. For generations beyond remembrance, the searats had been relentless foes of the lands of Mossflower, and a plague upon its creatures, arriving from the ocean to pillage, kill, rape and to abduct any unfortunate beasts who survived their onslaughts to bring them back over the sea to their ancestral homelands of Terramort and its surrounding isles to live the rest of their short and unpleasant lives as slaves. While there had been many vermin hordes and gangs of bandits to torment the good creatures of the lands throughout the ages, none had maintained such a constant presence, or inspired so much fear, as the corsair rats.

Gavin was the head of one of the first contingents of warriorbeasts that had been organized and briefed on their mission before being sent out as a reception party for the shipment that was to be delivered to an agreed destination at the edge of the Northlands, the northern part of Mossflower and the place where Urthblood had begun his campaigns and first established his power. Previously a wild, isolated frontier where woodlanders and vermin had been in constant conflict with each other, the badger had, through hard work and countless battles, managed to tame and pacify it, largely liberate it from slavers, bandits and other villains, and bring the various species that inhabited it into at least some semblance of peace and concord with each other.

The wooden pier that he was standing on was one of a series of similar constructions that had been built along the coast of Mossflower soon after Urthblood's peace treaty with Tratton had been finalized. The badger had sent out work crews both north and south of Salamandastron to erect these simple but sturdy docks along with a small shed for various tools and supplies for stationed troops and a brazier atop a wooden structure to signal the searat ships expected to regularly arrive at their location. Their purpose was to allow a port for the ships to easily and swiftly depose of the creatures whose freedom had been secured by Urthblood's treaty… and to as quickly and efficiently as possible bring aboard the cargo that they were to return to Tratton's empire with.

After having assured himself of the identity of the two ships through a spyglass, Gavin ordered a nearby squirrel to climb atop the brazier and set it alight; although the searats would hopefully recognize this pier as the one that they were to bring their unfortunate cargo to anyway, it didn't hurt to be careful. Not long afterwards, the ships altered their course to the makeshift dock, and a little less than an hour later, the crewrats aboard threw out mooring lines for the woodlanders to tie to the pier.

From their wide, bulky construction, the shrew guessed that the boats weren't the usual galleys and warships that the corsairs usually sent so close to the shores of Mossflower, but transport ships that were used to ferry goods between the islands that the searats controlled. Since they were useless in battle, they normally didn't dare sail near the coast, but since Urthblood had given his assurance that no searat ships would be attacked or harassed on their journey to the lands, they had apparently decided to use a ship that could hold the largest amount of beasts for transport.

The seavermin extended a couple of gangways to the dock, and a well-dressed, slightly overweight rat that looked more like an accountant or palace official rather than a fighting beast, descended from the leftmost ship, escorted by a half-dozen rugged soldiers. He gazed around cautiously, apparently nervous to walk into the middle of dozens of heavily armed beasts that would have slain him on sight just a few months before.

His trepidation wasn't unfounded. The badgerlord had always counted the searats as his most hated enemies, and they had apparently been completely outside of his vision of interspecies peace and unity. Their evil, he had said, went above and beyond that normally possessed by woodlander vermin, and their ruthlessness, cruelty and malice was burnt into their culture, society and perhaps even their very blood. Certainly, the poor creatures liberated from their slave camps could attest to atrocities that could turn the stomach even of hardened soldierbeasts, particularly the ones from the lumberyard on the northern Mossflower coast that had been razed the previous winter.

Urthblood had stated that he did not only seek to protect the beasts of the lands from the corsairs, but to end the searat menace once and for all. Although the badgerlord had a reputation as a merciful and forgiving warrior, who allowed defeated opponents the chance to join his army and showed remarkable tolerance for his subjects regardless of species, such magnanimity was not extended to searats, whom the badger proclaimed as his sworn enemies above all others. As far as Gavin knew, no searat had ever been allowed to serve in Urthblood's army, and when the badgerlord had triumphed over them in battle, the surviving enemybeasts could expect little mercy; in the skirmishes and engagement that the searats had won, they generally responded in kind. It was widely accepted that the bloody war between Salamandastron and Terramort would go on for many seasons, and could only end when one of them had been brought to utter defeat and submission.

The complete turnaround in the badger's relationship with them had shocked everybeast under his command, when he suddenly invited Tratton to his mountain for peace talks as if all the terrible conflicts over the previous years had been little more than a couple of unfortunate skirmishes. Despite many obstacles and hurdles in their path, in the end the two parties had signed the treaty, and the word was sent across the badgerlord's domains that all hostilities were to cease and the searats treated as equals. It felt strange being compelled to receive their former undying foes in a peaceful manner, and the shrew was uncertain of how it would turn out.

Gavin stepped forward to announce himself as the leader of the woodlanders; the rat in turn put on a mask of confidence and bravado and spoke:

"Greetings. I am Fargul, secretary in the service of His Majesty King Tratton I, Sovereign of the Searat Empire. I have been sent in the official capacity of overseeing this delivery of part of our Empire's labour force to your shores, and the reception of part of your own labour force in exchange, in accordance with the treaty recently signed by the nations of Terramort and Mossflower."

"Greetings in turn", the shrew responded coolly. "I am Gavin, commander in the service of Urthblood, the Crimson Badger and Lord of Salamandastron. I have been sent in the official capacity of overseeing the deliverance of these unfortunate creatures from seasons of soul-crushing slavery under the whips of your king and his servants."

Fargul chose to ignore Gavin's disrespectful reply (though he was curious why the shrew omitted the second part of the exchange from his castigation) as he produced a document from his robes for perusal.

"For some information before we release the cargo," he announced dryly. "The Seafoam," he waved to indicate the ship to his right, "is carrying a hundred and six workers from the ore mine at Baro. The Albatrosss," he motioned his paw behind him to the ship he'd just emerged from "is carrying sixty-one workers from a textile workshop at the island of Cerus. I trust you are adequately prepared to accept and handle them?"

"We are."

"Good, then we can get right to the business of loading the replacement workers on the ships once…"

The rat suddenly glanced over the gathered beasts at the dock, to the beaches and plains surrounding them. He soon returned his curious gaze to the shrew.

"These creatures we're supposed to take back with us… you haven't brought them here yet?"

Gavin paused for a while, unsure how to respond, how to answer Fargul's question without implying the situation he had strenuously tried to deny ever since the treaty at Salamandastron was signed.

"His lordship felt that… it would be best if the beasts who are to be released from these ships and the ones who are to replace them didn't directly meet each other. It could give rise to unnecessary questions, tensions and possibly even violence if it came to that. As such, we are going to deliver these… replacement workers to you once we have guided the beasts on your ships to some nearby villages in order for them to settle in. We have already mapped out the places where the replacement labour for this shipment is living at the moment, so we should be able to bring them back to you before the evening, with a minimum of fuss."

The rat looked none too pleased about this information. "We expected to be able to return to Terramort immediately after deposing the beasts on the ships to you. You mean we have to wait a day or more before we…?"

"The beasts on your ships have had to wait a lot longer for the chance to be treated like decent creatures! I don't think you have any right to complain about being a little late to get back to your precious empire! We will bring the replacements to you as soon as we are able, and all you have to do is show a little patience!"

The rat fell silent, and Gavin quickly returned to a more amiable tone of conversation.

"Now, if you want to get this over with as quickly as possible, perhaps we should start by releasing the slaves from your cargo holds?"

Fargul, doing his best to remain courteous, nodded. "Very well. We'll start with the ones on the Seafoam."

The rat and the shrew walked along the pier to the ship docked at its rightmost end, accompanied by a couple of soldiers from both sides. Fargul called to the captain of the Seafoam to open the doors to the cargo hold. Soon, after some prodding and barking of orders from the armed rats on deck, scores of frightened, wary creatures appeared and made their way down the gangplanks.

The beasts were mostly a mix of various woodlanders; mice, voles, squirrels, shrews, hedgehogs, a couple of moles and even a few badgers. Gavin was surprised, however, to find a few foxes, weasels and stoats among the throng of creatures making their way onto the dock. As he thought about it, it really wasn't that surprising; when the searats made their raids into the lands searching for new slave labour they probably didn't discriminate between "goodbeasts" and "vermin", but it was still unusual to think of such creatures actually being victims of slavery, rather than slavers themselves.

But what shocked (and angered) the shrew more than the species composition of the slaves, was the terrible state they were in. Gavin had of course fought slavers many times before, and was well aware of how they treated their unfortunate captives, but coming face to face with the beasts held in bondage by the searats always seemed to introduce you to new levels of cruelty and degradation. Filthy, unwashed creatures deprived of any dignity or recognition as sentient beings; starving, undernourished and gaunt beasts staring at him and the searats with hollow, fearful eyes, their fur blemished all over with scars from whips and sores from chains. Some of them didn't even have the luxury of clothes, and had to stand naked on the dock; from their lack of any noticeable shame, the shrew guessed that it wasn't an unusual occurrence in the slave camps that they'd come from.

Gavin returned his gaze to the rat, his fur bristling in barely restrained anger. "Hellgates! I knew you seavermin were cruel to the pitiful beasts that you work to death in order to build your empire, but whenever I see them for myself, you always surprise me with all the ingenuity you display in tormenting them. How the hell can you do such things to other beasts?"

The soldier-rats accompanying them tensed, and readied their weapons in the event of a confrontation. Fargul, who had regarded the miserable slaves with a look of uneasiness (though whether that was because he actually felt some genuine pity for the poor creatures or was merely worried that their condition would anger the woodlanders was anyone's guess), dropped the air of authority and diplomatic dispassion he had tried to maintain, and hurriedly tried to defend himself against the shrew's outburst.

"Look, we treated them as well as we could under the circumstances! If they hadn't constantly been causing trouble and refuse to follow the overseer's orders at Baro, they would have fared a lot better. Slaves have to learn that if they want good treatment, they have to obey their masters; if they don't, only harsh punishments will follow! I'm sorry, but they really brought this upon themselves!"

"Why, you little…"

Gavin took a step towards the rat, as the corsairs before him raised their cutlasses, when someone put a paw on his shoulder.

"Gavin, let it go! You know we're not supposed to talk about this!"

Shawn, a Gawtrybe squirrel and a sergeant under Gavin's command, stared with a firm gaze into his eyes, urging him to drop the subject. Before they had made their journey the docks, Urthblood had told the groups meant to receive the slaves to not argue with or confront the searats over the treatment they had given them (or any "justifications" that they'd give for it), as that could lead to violence and severely damage the relationships between the two parties necessary to keep the exchange treaty functioning. They already knew about the ill-treatment the slaves received from their captors, so it was pointless to start bickering over it now; all that mattered was that they would be released from their captivity and finally enjoy freedom and prosperity after so many seasons.

As he remembered that order, Gavin relented, calmed down and even managed to offer a (very forced and reluctant) apology for his outburst. He then suggested that they should bring out the slaves from the Albatrosss, and Fargul, though still suspicious of the shrew's temper, agreed. They went back to the ship Fargul had emerged from, the rats on board brought up the beasts from below deck, and soon the newly released slaves made their way down to the pier.

Here, Gavin was surprised again, but for a different reason. In comparison with the gaunt, whipscarred creatures from the Seafoam, the beasts in front of him seemed to be in a much better condition. While not exactly an image of affluence and prosperity, they seemed to be well-fed, had adequate clothing and most lacked any sign of wounds from lashes and chains on their bodies. There was also a difference in age and gender between the two groups; while the poor beasts from the Seafoam were mostly composed of adult males, the ones from the Albatross included several elderly and children, and over half seemed to be females. As with the previous group, he detected a few vermin among their ranks.

"It seems you actually treat some of your captives half-way decently", he commented sourly to the rat.

"Actually, most of these are what we searats like to call "born servants"; they're woodlanders who were born in servitude on our isles and have lived there all their lives, whose parents, or even grandparents in some cases, were brought from Mossflower and allowed to breed, and their children were raised under our watch."

Gavin pondered over this for a few moments. He had heard about such beasts before, second- and even third-generation slaves who had never known their ancestral homeland of Mossflower or what it meant to be free. While most searat taskmasters had their recently captured slaves worked to death in short order, some allowed them a more lenient work schedule and slightly easier lives, and if they survived long enough they were even permitted to form relationships with their fellow woodlanders and have children. These children, who were counted as being slaves from birth, were more valuable to the rats than those who had been captured as adults. Since they had never known freedom and had nothing else to compare their lives to, they were less likely to rebel and more compliant to their masters' orders, and could thus be trusted with more complex and professional tasks, such as assembling wares and goods in workshops and factories.

Some powerful, influential and wealthy searats even employed them as domestic servants, having them work as housekeepers, valets, cooks, nannies and other roles within their households. Although this was one of most comfortable professions a woodlander could have in the searat's empire, Gavin had heard disgusting anecdotes that any such slave, of either gender, were required to submit to any sexual advances their owners made upon them, and that quite a few of them had to serve for their master's pleasure in the bedroom. No matter how "valuable" a slave you were to the searats, there were always at least some humiliating and unpleasant things you were forced to do, even apart from your basic lack of freedom.

The shrew nodded to Fargul: "Yes, I've heard of such… long-term serfs in your keeping, and I understand why you would treat them with greater care."

The rat seemed to brighten up a little at the shrew's apparently more amiable attitude. "Indeed! I think this amply demonstrates that if you simply submit and do as you're told without grumbling and resistance, the life of a slave isn't so bad. It's all about accepting your place and submitting to your fate, and if you do that, it actually…"

He had intended to continue with his little speech, but when Gavin shot him a very cold and hostile look, he wisely shut up.

Gavin decided it was time to start escorting the former slaves to their new homes in the nearby villages… and to send out most of the soldiers to escort their replacements back to the searats. After some quick discussions with Fargul about time schedules and whether the replacements should be loaded into one or both ships, he walked over to Sergeant Shawn to talk about how they should proceed.

"Now, we went over some of this at Salamandastron and on the journey here", he said. "You are to take most of the troops and send them out to the villages of Conwyn, Gleamshire and Torn a few miles from here, where you will round up the replacements as quickly and… gently as possible. Meanwhile, I will escort the released slaves to River's End, one of the larger communities in this area; they're the ones best able to receive them and are already prepared for their arrival. We'll meet up at the nearby meadow afterwards and then bring the replacements to the pier. If everything goes well, the searat ships should be able to return home by late afternoon. Then we'll return to River's End and spend the night there, and await further orders from Urthblood."

"Alright," the squirrel responded. "We have seventy-four soldiers in our troop, including you and me, so I think we should have… twelve of them stay here at the dock, while I lead twenty to Conwyn, corporal Niven will take fifteen to Torn and corporal Gus fifteen to Gleamshire, and you take ten to escort the woodlanders to River's End. Do you think that's enough for you? You'll be guiding over a hundred and sixty beasts after all."

"I think that'll be more than enough; the woods around here are relatively free of bandits and highwaybeasts these days, and once the creatures under our protection know that they are now free and will be taken to new homes, they're unlikely to cause any trouble."

After finishing their discussion, Shawn saluted his commander and picked the troops that would follow him to the villages, sent Gus and Niven on their way, and led his own contingent into the woods a short walk from the beach. Gavin took command of the former slaves from the rats and left the troops stationed at the dock behind him as he and his soldiers led the slaves away from the shoreline.

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A few hundred yards from the coast, when they were out of direct sight of the ships and close to the edge of the forest, he had the large gathering stop, and his troops began to hand out blankets and food that they'd brought with them among their charges. The wretched beasts from the Seafoam were naturally prioritized first, and the blankets were mostly meant for the ones who wore nothing but their fur. The food consisted of a crust of bread with some cheese, and milk or ale for drinking. It wasn't exactly scrumptious fare, but it was just meant to hold them over for a few hours until they got to River's End, where they would be able to bathe, be given salves and balms for their scars, put on clean clothes and enjoy a true, warm meal to celebrate their recent freedom.

The shrew noticed that the woodlanders didn't seem very resentful or distrustful of the few vermin that had arrived on the ships with them. When he thought about it, it wasn't actually that surprising. The vermin who worked at the ore mines at Baro had probably suffered as much under the searats' whips as their woodlander fellows, and when you had to work on equal terms and under the same hardships along each other, your shared experiences could actually forge a bond of comradeship that surpassed the prejudices the two groups generally felt for each other. Most of the slaves from the workshop had grown up without the same atmosphere of hostility that pervaded much of Mossflower, and might have lived and worked around vermin all their life. In a way, it was gladdening to see that such ancient prejudices could be put aside even without the direct influence of Urthblood… though of course, it was far more tragic that it had happened while they were living in brutal captivity.

As he walked around with the food and blankets under his arms to help with the distribution, he came across a hedgehog sitting on the ground, one of the beasts from the Seafoam, judging by his thin frame, scars and the fact that he was one of the slaves who didn't have any clothes to cover himself with, his hindpaws pulled up against his chest to give him some manner of privacy. Gavin was gripped by pity, and walked over to him to hand him the blankets and something to eat.

"Here, put these around yourself", he said kindly and extended the blanket to the hedgehog, who first eyed the shrew unsurely, before standing up and tying it around his waist. He was also given a second one to drape over his shoulders, (the shrew noticed that several of his spikes seemed to have fallen off from his back, no doubt from all the hardships he'd experienced during captivity). He then accepted the bread and cheese and started to eat; he looked as if he were uncertain of whether to be grateful for the shrew's kindness, or suspicious of any ulterior motives.

After allowing the hedgehog to enjoy his meagre meal for awhile (and giving the supplies he was carrying to a subordinate to distribute), Gavin gave a warm, friendly smile and asked:

"What's your name?"

The starved creature looked up from his meal towards him, unsure about the shrew's friendly attitude and any meaning behind it, and then responded with a fearful, uncertain voice:

"Er… Caful."

"Do you like the food?"

The hedgehog again seemed uncertain if it was a friendly, concerned question about his well-being or meant as a challenge to see if he would dare to complain about the food he'd been given; after awhile, with eyes downcast, he simply answered:

"Yes… yes I do. Thank you."

He then looked up again, seemed to mull over whether to say anything, and finally summoned up the courage to ask:

"Forgive me, master, but if you don't mind me asking… who are you, and where are you taking us?"

Gavin smiled once again and put his paw on Caful's shoulder.

"There's no need to call me "master", Caful; in fact, I would prefer it if you didn't. My name is Gavin, and I serve under Urthblood, the badgerlord of Salamandastron. You, and all the poor creatures that came with you here on the ships, are free now. Urthblood has made a deal with the searats to release all slaves in their keeping, and allow them to come here, to the lands of Mossflower."

Caful's jaw went agape and his eyes widened in the wake of these unbelievable news.

"What? You mean that… that… that we're...?"

"Yes… You will never again have to feel the sting of the foreman's whip on your backs, forced to perform backbreaking labour under the cruel gazes of the searat overseer's and live in starvation and misery, separated from your loved ones. All that is over. You are free beasts now, and you can choose whatever paths in life you wish. We are here to escort you to a nearby village for a warm bath, fresh clothes and a feast to celebrate your newly won freedom."

Caful was utterly speechless at first, having no idea of how to respond to the shrew's words. Then, his eyes started to brim with water, his mouth started quivering, and before Gavin could respond, he had taken the shrew's paw in his own and started kissing it, tears streaming down his face.

"Thank you… oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You… have no idea what… I can never… oh god, thank you…"

Gavin allowed the hedgehog to continue with his kisses for awhile, even though he was rather embarrassed to be given so much praise and gratitude for something he didn't actually have that much to do with. But more than anything else, what he felt was an unbelievable warmth and joy inside him, to know that another beast could feel such an enormous gratitude for what he had done. When Caful looked up at him again, his eyes reddened by the tears, he saw that where before there had only been fear and resignation, his face now shone with hope and happiness.

It was these type of moments that Gavin lived for, the reason that he served Urthblood and managed to endure through his campaigns and battles, even when things where at their most hopeless, painful and distressing. It was for the chance to see such gratitude and joy on the faces of beasts he had delivered from slavery, oppression and misery, to bring together loved ones who had been separated by war and conflict, to help creatures who previously lived in poverty and fear rise up and build a good life for themselves, to know that, even in a world that often seemed so cruel and heartless, he had made a difference. It was what kept him going even through his darkest moments, strengthened him in his periods of fear and self-doubt, and convinced him that he had made the right choice when he pledged his loyalty to the standard of the Crimson Badger. It took all his willpower not to tear up himself as the hedgehog showered him with affection.

After allowing the Caful to show his gratitude in the way he wanted, he gently pulled back his paw from the hedgehog's lips.

"There's really no need to thank me so much; I don't deserve all this gratitude. I didn't make the treaty or convinced Tratton to free you, Urthblood did. If you want to feel grateful, it should be to him."

"But I want to! I really do!" The hedgehog's voice was still quivering with his joyful tears. "You… you can't even imagine what you… and Urthblood… have done for me, and for so many others. If… if it really is as you say, and all the slaves are going to be freed… there's no way we can ever show you enough gratitude. Thank you, thank you so much!"

The hedgehog sat down again, and wiped away the tears from his cheeks with the back of his arm.

"I've been a slave for ten seasons… ten seasons of misery and suffering, of seeing friends dying of hunger and exhaustion, or being killed for no longer being strong enough to work, or for accidentally dropping some valuable ore load. Ten seasons without seeing my family and loved ones. I was convinced I would die in the dark tunnels and caverns of the mines. When the searats came and ordered us onto the ships a few days ago, I would never even have dared to imagine that they would carry us to freedom; I was sure we would be going to some other hellhole to slave away until we finally caved in under the workload, or even that we were no longer useful to them and that they would scuttle the boat we were on. I could never have imagined that I would ever see Mossflower again."

Gavin crouched and once again put his paw on the hedgehog's shoulder.

"Caful, don't think about those horrible times now. It's all behind you. What matters now is your future. We will find you a new home, and help you start a new life in these beautiful lands."

Caful smiled at the kind words, and then suddenly looked up as if they reminded him of something important.

"Gavin, if you don't mind me asking, where in Mossflower are we?"

The shrew mulled over this for awhile. "Well, I don't know exactly how well you know the geography of Mossflower, so I'm not sure if my answer would tell you much. Basically, we're at the south-eastern border of the Northlands, near the river Tummel. The settlement we're going to take you to is called River's End."

At this information, the hedgehog's ears perked.

"River's End? Isn't that near the village of Torn?"

"Yes!" The shrew was genuinely surprised that the hedgehog knew so much of the area. "You're familiar with it?"

"I lived there with my wife and newborn son before I was captured and sent to the slave mines! Me and some of the males from the village made a trip to the river to gather shrimps when we were happened upon by a searat raiding party that had made a quick excursion in the area. We were captured and loaded onto a waiting boat that quickly returned to their home isles, where we were unfortunate enough to be assigned to that horrible mine at Baro."

The shrew hadn't expected that one of the slaves they'd release would happen to live so close to the dock where they would make the exchange. It was a coincidence that could potentially lead to problems, as he understood what Caful would ask next.

Sure enough, Caful's look became pleading as he focused his eyes on the shrew:

"Gavin, please! Torn is just an hour or so to the east of River's End, it will not take any longer to bring us there instead! If you can't do so, I can walk there myself! I know the way perfectly, I won't have any problems getting there on my own! There are two other people from the fishing trip who are still alive; they'll want to join me too! If we can see our families again, it will be more than worth it to…"

Gavin interrupted the hedgehog, his face having gone from jovial to mournful and concerned.

"Caful, I'm sorry, but… we can't allow you to do that just now."

Caful was taken aback at being refused to do something as simple as making a short trip to a nearby village, especially as he would be willing to walk there on his own without inconveniencing the soldiers who escorted them. Though he was sure the hedgehog didn't mean to do so, he couldn't help but detect a slight tone of anger in his voice.

"But why not!"

"Well, the thing is… while we're taking you to River's End, we're also sending some soldiers to Torn, and to a couple of other hamlets and villages nearby, to perform a… task that I don't think you or your fellows from the mines would care to see. It's an important task, and it's vital that they don't get disturbed while doing it. I can't tell you what it is right now, but you'll find out soon enough."

As he could see that Caful was getting visibly annoyed at this, he quickly followed it up:

"Listen, it won't take long. I promise you, first thing tomorrow we'll take you and anyone else who so wishes to Torn, we're you'll met your wife and son again. Besides, at River's End, you will be able to bathe, get new clothes and enjoy a scrumptious feast so that you will look more presentable to your wife when you see her again." He chuckled a little, hoping it would ease the hedgehog's tension. "I know it must it must be frustrating, but I beg you, just be a little patient. Your wife has waited for you for more than two years; she'll just have to wait one more day, and then you'll be together again."

Caful looked as he was about to protest, but then he sighed and cast down his eyes, looking like he was ashamed for being ungrateful to his liberator.

"You're right. I'm sorry. You freed me and gave me my life back; I have no right to complain about not being able to go home just now when your soldiers are engaged in something so important. I'll wait just a little longer; it… it'll be nice to get cleaned up a little before I see her again."

Gavin smiled once again.

"It's alright, Caful. I understand completely how eager you must be to see your family again after so many seasons apart. Now, rise up. We're gonna continue our trip to River's End now, where you'll have a nice, pleasant evening, and before you know it, you'll be seeing your loved ones again."

Caful smiled back and then rose to his paws, as Gavin gave him a last comforting paw on his shoulder before walking to the front of the gathering to continue leading the way to River's End. It seemed that the news of their recent liberation had spread amongst the former slaves by now. Everywhere, he could see faces shining with joy and brimming with grateful tears, and heard cheers and praises for the soldiers guiding them. Once again, his felt his heart grow warm as he took in the atmosphere around him.

However, as he looked more closely at the various beasts that had just come of the ships, he discovered something that both surprised and worried him. While the starved, dirty creatures from the Seafoam were all overwhelmed with happiness, the ones from the Albatross looked somewhat different. While most of them seemed happy and glad to be free creatures for the first time in their lives, there were also other emotions expressing themselves on their faces and in their body language: uncertainty, confusion, nervousness, even a bit of fear could be detected in some of them. As he continued gazing over the crowd, trying to read their expressions and guess their emotions, he understood that, as tragic and wrong as it really was, it was nevertheless understandable in a way.

For all the unpleasantness and drudgery they had experienced, the searat isles was the only home many of these beasts had ever truly had. They had always lived with having searats ordering them around, working in their shops and homes, had been taught by their owners that slavery was their natural lot in life and that there was nothing to do but accept it. And sadly, it seemed that some of them had in fact accepted it. They had stopped longing for freedom, not simply because it seemed so hopeless and because it was torture to wish for something you believed would never come, but because true freedom just seemed unimaginable. They had never known any other way of life; Mossflower, if they knew about it at all, must have seemed like a distant fairy-tale land that their parent or grandparents sometimes talked about, not their ancestral homeland that they truly belonged to. What all this meant was that for many of them, as ridiculous and cruel as it felt when you said it aloud, freedom actually seemed frightening. To not have anyone else always telling you what to do, having your life structured according to a tight, orderly schedule that others had made for you, to make your own way in life according to your own choices and desires… it felt so new, strange and overwhelming that it was actually rather scary.

As Gavin compared the slaves from the Seafoam and the Albatross, he honestly couldn't say which group felt like the most tragic one. On one paw, the slaves that had been born and raised in Tratton's empire had been treated much better, and had generally lived easier lives, than the brutalized, starving creatures from Baro. If forced to choose between which life they preferred to lead, most beasts would probably go with the former one. But on the other paw, to know that lifelong slavery could warp the mind of someone to the point that you couldn't even imagine freedom, to the point that its prospect actually frightened you… At least the tortured beasts at Baro still longed for liberty, and understood the enormity of the evil being done to them. The ones who were born, raised and lived in the middle of the searats' society simply submitted to their tyranny without question, believing that there was no other way for them to live, didn't know that they should be free to live their own lives. It was terrifying to think that the mind of anybeast could be so twisted to such a degree that you accepted your own enslavement.

Gavin roused himself from his pondering. No matter; even if the inborn slaves had indeed been so brainwashed as to be frightened by the prospect of freedom, once they had lived in the beautiful forests, fields and meadows of Mossflower, once they began to enjoy the taste of their newfound liberty, they would understand that they had been wrongfully deprived of a good life and see slavery for the evil it truly was. It was just a matter of time before they would come around and see it from the right point of view.

Gavin stepped in front of the gathered beasts and called for attention. With everybeast looking at him, he began to give a stirring speech that he'd practiced a bit before for this occasion. It was mostly a repetition of the things he'd just recently said to Caful: that Lord Urthblood had made a deal with Tratton to release all the searat king's slaves, that they were now free beasts and would never have to suffer under the overseer's whips again, that they would be escorted to new homes in the lands after a scrumptious feast at River's End. He added that any beast that had lived in a specific home somewhere in Mossflower before their enslavement would later get help to return there; those who didn't, either because it had been destroyed in the searats' raids or because they had lived under their clutches all their lives and thus never had a true home to begin with, would get help to start over new lives.

There was a great cheer from the crowd at the conclusion of his address. With a warm and confident smile, he waved for everybeast present to follow him and his troops onto a path through the forest, to begin their short march to River's End and their new lives as free creatures.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Kopec had just delivered the last basket of bread when the soldiers arrived at the village.

His mother had been working hard ever since the break of dawn at mixing the flour, water, salt, yeast, eggs, nuts and spices into a large bowl, kneading the resulting dough into large, rounded lumps and then placing them in the oven, baking them into nice loafs of delicious bread. They were meant for some of the residents of the village who were a bit short of funds at the moment, and since many of them had been so accepting and helpful to the rats when they first came to Conwyn, Nisha, who had saved quite a large quantity of flour, spices and other ingredients in her house, had considered it only right and proper that they should now aid them in turn. The beasts he had delivered it to had been truly grateful, not just for the help, but also because the ratmaid's bread was considered the best in the village and in any of the surrounding settlements.

Kopec had lived with his mother in Conwyn for about fifteen seasons. Before that, they had been travelling with his father and older brother, Liam, as part of one of the pillaging vermin hordes that had been so common in these regions until recently, eking out an existence on whatever loot his father and, later, his brother managed to scrape together from their raids. That had come to an end when the armies of lord Urthblood had caught up with them. He had been little more than a child when the two sides met in battle, cowering with his mother and the other non-fighting beasts at the back of the battle lines. The vermin had fought bravely, but in the end they had stood no chance against the crimson badger's better trained, better organized and numerically superior troops. His father was killed in the fighting, while Liam just barely managed to make it through.

After the battle, the surviving warriors and their families were gathered in front of the badgerlord and his troops. To their surprise, Urthblood had declared that if they laid down their weapons and gave up their villainous ways, they would get help to start new lives and allowed to aid him in his goal of pacifying the lands and bringing woodlanders and vermin together. He would even allow any surviving warriors to join his army to help him directly in this goal. Liam had been so moved by the badgerlord's mercy that he had signed up practically on the spot, and soon afterwards, he bid farewell to his little brother and Nisha to join the crimson badger's crusade.

Kopec, by contrast, had never considered doing the same, even if he hadn't been too young at the time to be allowed to serve in the army. This was partly because someone would have to take care of mother, partly because, to be honest with himself, he was too cowardly to be a warrior, and did not relish the thought of being skewered by a sword, impaled on a spear or pierced by an arrow on some distant battlefield. But perhaps more than that, it was because he still felt resentment towards the badger for the death of his father. He realized of course that it had been during a battle as he was attacking their troops in turn, that Dubhan had belonged to a horde that plundered and terrorized innocent creatures, and that he wasn't the only one who had lost family members that day. And the badger had been very generous in his treatment of his defeated enemies, certainly far more so than most other woodlanders, who would probably have left none of the enemy warriors alive if they'd been able, and then left their families to fend for themselves without anyone to protect them. But he still couldn't help but feel that it wasn't right to serve under the one who had killed his father, necessary as it may have been.

In fact, he had sometimes felt resentment toward Liam for forgiving Urthblood so quickly. But he knew that it was ultimately foolish to nurse that resentment; Liam had grieved as much as he and his mother after Dubhan's death, but he had understood that it was pointless to dwell so much on the past, and instead strove to honour his father by fighting to make sure that other rats and vermin would never have to resort to banditry and pillaging to survive again.

After Liam had left, Kopec and Nisha, along with most of the surviving beasts from the horde that hadn't joined the badger's army, had been guided to Conwyn to settle down and start new lives as productive, respectable citizens of the nation Urthblood was trying to create, on equal standing with any goodbeast. At that time, several of beasts in the village had been recruited into the badgerlord's army, which left quite a few homesteads empty for the arriving vermin to occupy. It was common practice for Urthblood to allow recruited vermin and their families to settle in villages like Conwyn that were previously only inhabited by woodlanders. The badger hoped that letting the two groups live closely together like this would aid in changing the mindsets of the beasts of the Northlands, to help the former enemies to regard each other as friends for the first time. It hadn't always worked, unfortunately; in some places there had even broken out violent riots and fights between them, as the two sides just couldn't let go of their old enmities. But more often than not, the experiment had been successful, softening tensions and warming relations between goodbeasts and vermin and gradually healing the old wounds between the two of them.

Kopec and his mother had the good fortune of arriving at a settlement where Urthblood's experiment had worked rather well. While there had been some cold stares given and unkind words shouted, and even several seasons later a few of its inhabitants hadn't really warmed up to them, the village had generally been accepting of the new arrivals. In particular, a family of mice and a group of otters had been very kind and welcoming to the vermin, and had even helped build a couple of entirely new cottages and cabins for the hamlet's new residents (causing a few of the woodlanders to grumble that the vermin got to live better than they did). Nisha had set up a little shop in their new house to perform a variety of tasks, doing laundry, sewing clothes and preparing fabrics, and of course, baking her beloved bread. In the time since arriving, she had actually become rather well-liked and even respected in the village. Kopec generally helped her to the best of his ability, and performed some work in Conwyn and occasionally in the surrounding settlements, but he had yet to find any permanent calling.

Meanwhile, Liam had travelled as part of the army of the Crimson Badger, visiting his mother and younger brother whenever his missions led him near their home. From what they heard from the other soldiers with him and from any news reaching them from the badger's campaigns, Liam was a very brave and skilled soldier. He had fought valiantly in many battles, and was popular and highly regarded by both his comrades and superiors. It had been a day of celebration for the two rats when they were informed that he had been promoted to sergeant in the rat division, and it was widely assumed that he would rise even further in the command chain before too long, if he kept up his excellent record.

Sadly, that promising military career was literally cut short at the first battle of Salamandastron. Not everyone had appreciated Urthblood's campaign of bringing woodlanders and vermin together, and among those were his brother Urthfist, the former lord of the mountain. He had been so blinded by his hatred of vermin that he became convinced that his brother must have turned wholly evil to even consider taking them under his wing. He had declared Urthblood his sworn enemy and turned the Long Patrol, the small personal army of hares that had protected the badgerlords for ages, against him. The conflict had come to its bloody conclusion when the two sides met on the slopes on the mountain, and despite the crimson badger's overture of peace, Urthfist had charged madly against the line of enemy troops, determined to kill as many vermin as he could. Liam had been stationed at Salamandastron at the time, and in the fighting he had happened to come too close to the mad badger and was cleft in two by his greatsword.

The news of his death had devastated Kopec and his mother to a possibly even greater extent than that of Dubhan. Liam had been the pride of the family, a beast who served courageously in a proper army for a great and noble cause rather than a bandit who stole and plundered from honest creatures to keep his family fed, who was genuinely liked and respected by his fellows, and a living proof that any vermin could rise above his roots to become a true hero and goodbeast. To lose him was to lose the symbol on which they based their hope for the future, the bedrock on which they had planned to build their lives. That it had happened at the paws of a beast who had gone mad with rage at seeing Urthblood treating rats and vermin as proper, decent creatures only compounded the pain.

In one of the many arguments that had followed in the wake of their loss, when they were at their most angry with one another and could barely even stand to look at each other, Nisha had shouted to her son that he should have died at Salamandastron instead of Liam. She had immediately regretted her words and tearfully apologized, but those words had always left a painful impression on Kopec because, in a sense, he felt should have died instead too.

Although he had felt some resentment towards Liam for so easily forgiving Urthblood, as well as a little jealousy of all the praise and admiration he was given while he himself didn't have any real accomplishments to his name, in all other respects he had always deeply loved and admired his brother. Liam had been smarter, stronger, kinder, friendlier and far more courageous than Kopec would ever be. If he had stayed with his mother, he would have been of much greater help and support to her. Kopec had to admit to himself that he wasn't always the helpful and good son he should be; he wasn't always there to help his mother when she needed him, letting his own laziness and resentment get their upper paw of him. He often got into arguments with her, saying things he didn't mean but was too ashamed to take back. Ever since coming to Conwyn, he had never acquired any real friends, and there was no use blaming prejudice against his species for it; the rat was sullen, moody and not easy to approach and get to know. Several times, some of the beasts in the village had tried to be friendly with him and connect with him, and while it usually started well enough, they had often unwittingly said something that offended or irritated him, causing him to lash back at the surprised creature and immediately souring the relations between them, and they would walk away from each other in anger. Nisha had sometimes had to deal with reprimands and rebukes from other beasts over her son's behaviour, leading to further arguments between mother and son which achieved little except leaving both of them in angry tears.

Things weren't improved by their economic situation. Ever since Liam's death, it had been more difficult for his mother to concentrate on her work, which led to delayed work orders and assignments and complaints from her customers who often took their orders to others instead. Some of their neighbours were kind enough to help out with their problems, but it still wasn't enough to get back to the level when she was at her best. When Liam was alive, he had sometimes sent packages with food, clothes, tools and other sundry items to them, and occasionally even small purses containing a few pieces of copper or even silver that could be traded if other beasts thought they were shiny and pretty enough. With his death, their delivery had naturally ceased, and while they hadn't been a huge help, they had certainly made their lives a little easier.

Kopec had heard rumours that Urthblood had planned to establish some kind of pension system for the families of the soldiers in his service, as well as for any widows and orphans left behind if they fell in battle. If there had ever been such a plan however, it had yet to come into fruition, which wasn't really surprising; the infrastructure of Mossflower, even after the all the badger's improvements, were still nowhere near developed and organized enough to handle such a large scheme.

Still, for all their problems, they managed to get by. They had enough to eat, a roof over their heads, and they still had the means to make an honest, peaceful living, rather than the meagre existence of a hordebeast, which is all they could have hoped for if it hadn't been for Urthblood. You had to focus on the good things you had in life, rather than all the troubles and misery. It was what his brother, always the optimist, would have said, and while Kopec was too much the cynic to truly take that to heart, it never hurt to keep it in mind.

Little did he know that soon, his life, his mother's life and the lives of all the rats in Mossflower would be changed forever…

He was just returning to his mother's cabin, the empty breadbasket in his right paw, walking over the main street of Conwyn (if a dusty beaten track could be called a "street"), when he noticed the group of armed beasts coming up the road towards the village. Stopping in his tracks and squinting a bit, he could make out that they were all squirrels. He stayed in the middle of the road and waited for them to come closer, wanting to know what they were here for. As they approached, several other beasts noticed them as well, and gathered outside their homes and fields, curious as to why they would get a visit from the badgerlord's troops.

As they came to a stop just inside the edge of the village, Kopec could see from their dress, bearing and posture that they were from the Gawtrybe, the large collection of tribes of northlander squirrels that were allied with Urthblood, and generally regarded as his most fanatical and loyal soldiers. He frowned at this. Although the Gawtrybe were generally held in very high regard by the creatures of the lands, primarily in the Northlands, though their fame and reputation had spread all the way to the farthest reaches of Mossflower and even to the Southsward, Kopec had never liked them. He found them cold, grim and arrogant, and whenever he and his mother had met them in the past, they often seemed to treat them with just barely restrained contempt. He supposed that it was because they had spent so many bloody seasons fighting against the searats, and therefore found it hard to distinguish between them and the "normal" woodlander rats they were supposed to treat like equals.

He remembered an occasion a couple of seasons ago, when some of the Gawtrybe had passed through Conwyn after a bloody rout with the searats. They had spent the night in the village, and many villagers turned up to hear them tell the story of their recent battle. While most of the listeners were impressed and cheered when the squirrels bragged about not leaving a single of the seavermin alive, Kopec, and most his fellow rats, had only squirmed uncomfortably.

While the Crimson Badger's propaganda about the searats clearly distinguished between woodland rats, who were considered misguided beasts that were nevertheless noble at heart, and their seaborne cousins, who were considered evil, vile creatures whose entire society was based around treachery, cruelty and the enslavement of their unfortunate lessers, Kopec knew that there really wasn't much difference between the two. They were both really the exact same species, only that a long time ago, the rats living in Mossflower had split into two groups, with one of them journeying out to sea to establish themselves as searats - or was it the other way around, with the searats coming first and the woodlander rats having settled in the lands? Nobeast seemed to know. As such, when the squirrels ended their tirade about the utter wickedness of the seavermin with a quick reassurance that they weren't talking about the rats sitting beside them, Kopec hadn't felt very comforted. To him, rats were rats, whether they lived at land or sea, whether they were slavers and conquerors or farmers and shopkeepers; when others talked about how horrible and vile the searats were and boasted about how many they'd killed, it still felt as if they were directing their venom, in a sense, to him and his fellow woodlander rats.

Kopec was roused from his brief memory trip when the leader of the squirrels stepped forward.

"Greetings. I'm Sergeant Shawn, in the service of Lord Urthblood. We have come to this village bearing an important message, and it's imperative that every citizen of Conwyn hear it. As such, we would appreciate it if you could immediately spread the word of our arrival to everybeast living here, and have them gather at this spot to hear what we have to say."

As the rat observed the Gawtrybe a bit more closely, he could see that they were armed with their usual weapons: bows and quivers of arrows and a couple of combat daggers strapped to their chests. What surprised him though, was that each squirrel seemed to have a small wooden club dangling at their belts; not exactly proper battle weapons. For some reason, those clubs worried him more than any other of their armaments.

The soldiers refused to answer any questions until everyone had been gathered around them, so before long, the beasts who had noticed them coming quickly spread out to pass on the word of their arrival to all the inhabitants of Conwyn. Kopec ran straight to his mother's house to inform her of the soldiers and their call for a gathering, and they soon made their way back to the main road. By the time they got there, most of Conwyn's inhabitants, a little over a hundred beasts, had gathered before the squirrels. Waiting a little longer until it seemed everyone had come together before them, Shawn spoke up again.

"Greetings to you all, citizens of Conwyn! As I have already stated, I am Shawn, sergeant in the service of his lordship, Urthblood of Salamandastron, and I have come here as his representative, bearing a number of very important news and announcements."

As he said this, the rat couldn't help but feel that he was scanning his gaze over the crowd, and seemed to be counting the number of beasts there, paying particular attention to the group of rats that Kopec stood with.

"First of all, I don't know if you're already aware of this, but a few months ago, the searats reached out to Urthblood to begin negotiations for a peace treaty. Tratton had been so soundly trounced and defeated in his recent battles against Salamandastron that he was desperate to avoid complete annihilation at the badgerlord's paws at any cost, and Urthblood was magnanimous enough to refrain from exterminating the searats from the oceans once and for all at his request."

The villagers had indeed heard about such a treaty being worked out recently; some had been furious that the badgerlord would negotiate with the seavermin at all, others had been glad at the prospect that all the wars and skirmishes with them might finally come to an end. Kopec couldn't help but think that the whole affair hadn't been the one-sided surrender from Tratton that Shawn made it out to be.

"A couple of weeks ago, the treaty was finalized. The cost to the searats in order to avoid utter defeat and destruction was high: they will never again land upon our shores to plunder and kidnap innocent beasts, they will never attack peaceful traders on the high seas again, and they will have to deal with their neighbours and the lands completely on Urthblood's terms.

More importantly, however, they have been forced to make a final, huge concession to the bagerlord. To show that they truly intend to have good relations with the lands from now on, they will set free all slaves that they have kept in cruel bondage for so many seasons and years. Every slave on their islands, in their galleys, in their encampments in the lands and everywhere in their empire and beyond, will be released and shipped to Mossflower, where they will begin their new lives as free beasts."

At first, the entire crowd, including Kopec and his mother, were stunned speechless at these news, a few gasps all the response that greeted Shawn's incredible announcement. Soon however, they erupted in a roaring cheer, applauding, jumping up and down and showing their amazement and gratitude at these wonderful news in any way they could.

Shawn smiled proudly as the beasts before him showered the squirrels with praise and affection, and soon held up his paws to encourage the crowd to calm down so he could continue with his announcement.

"Me and my comrades are part of a delegation sent to the Northlands to secure one of the first deliveries of these newly freed beasts and escort them to new homes. I'm happy to announce that some of them have chosen to settle here in Conwyn, and will be arriving here tomorrow."

This caused further cheers from their audience, who were eager to help fellow goodbeasts build up a new life after so many seasons as slaves.

Suddenly, however, Shawn's expression changed from bright and amiable to cold and grim.

"However, I also have a difficult proclamation to make in relation to these delightful news. The slaves who arrive here will need places to stay, and it seems that there isn't enough room for that here at the moment. As such, in order for these poor beasts, who have lived for so long in abject misery, starvation and oppression, to be able to enjoy the warmth and comfort of a proper home, some of you living here now will have to make some sacrifices for their sake. By the authority invested in me by Lord Urthblood, I must insist that all rats living in Conwyn pack up their belongings, evacuate their homes and come with us."

If the crowd had been speechless before, it was nothing compared to the stunned silence settling over it now. And nobeasts, of course, were more silent than the rats that Shawn had directed his unexpected order to. Kopec literally couldn't believe his ears at first. They would have to leave their homes that they had worked to maintain for so many seasons, and the village that they had been respectable members of for so long? Why? It made absolutely no sense!

Just as the stunned beasts stirred from their silence, and started to protest, the squirrel again held up his paws to speak.

"Now, don't worry! You will be taken to new homes not far from here where you will be allowed to settle down again. But for now, we have to look to the best interest of these hungry, weary creatures from the searat slave camps first. If you just follow us in a calm, orderly fashion, everything will turn out fine!"

A mouse by the name of Alwyn, one of the village elders and one of the beasts who had been most welcoming and accepting of the vermin when they arrived at Colwyn, stepped forward and spoke up.

"But I don't understand… How many beasts are arriving to this village?"

"At this time, only about a pawful. But this is only the first shipment of many that will release the thousands of creatures kept in bondage by the searats. It's very possible that more will arrive here in the near future."

"But surely we can manage to find room for them here without expelling these poor creatures from their homes? We can have them stay in our houses, and we can help to build new cottages for them, and…"

"No. It's more difficult than you think to find quarters for so many in your little village," the squirrel responded, apparently unaware that the people of Conwyn had managed to do just that fifteen seasons ago. "This isn't up for discussion; I have to insist that the rats come with us!"

"But why just the rats?" Another voice was raised from the crowd, this time from one of the rodents who had just been told that he would have to leave his home. "Why are we rats the only ones who have to leave?"

"Aside from the need to find new lodgings for the arriving beasts," the squirrel answered, "the foremost reason that you have to move is because having them come face to face and forcing them to live in proximity with rats would cause unnecessary tension and conflict. You have to understand, the only rats these former slaves might have ever known are the ones who enslaved and brutalized them. If they saw you, it might lead to blows and bring violence and strife to this peaceful village. Now, I know you have no relation to the seavermin who treated them like that," - he didn't sound very sincere at this - "but we have to look at this from the perspective of creatures who would see all rats, unfortunately, in the same way as their captors. To avoid such an unpleasant experience for both of you, it will be best if you move somewhere else."

The rat who'd asked the previous question wasn't mollified by this. "Well, I'm not moving out of the home that I have toiled and worked hard for, that I've maintained by honest living! If they're so damn offended by me being a rat, they can move somewhere else! I'm not gonna leave everything I've…"

As the rat took some challenging steps toward the soldiers, and was about to be followed by some of the other gathered beasts, the squirrels quickly moved their paws to the daggers at their chests and the clubs at their waists. Everybeast gathered froze. Would the soldiers really use violence to get their way, and force peaceful beasts out of their homes?

Shawn gave a cold, harsh look to the rats standing in the crowd, and continued talking in a bitter tone, sounding almost like a parent giving a stern reprimand to a bunch of ungrateful children.

"I would remind you, rat, that the reason you and your fellows have been able to live so prosperously here for the past several seasons, is because of us! When we put a stop to your pillaging and terrorizing of innocent creatures, we showed you mercy and pity, where most others would have been content to put you in your grave and have your family starve or freeze to death! We put in a large amount of effort to find proper homes for you and help you start new lives, benefiting from the woodlanders' goodwill and forgiveness that we had taught them to show! You owe us, and Urthblood, your entire lives!"

He then turned his gaze to the crowd in general.

"And not just the rats. All you people of Conwyn have been under the protection of the forces of the badgerlord. We have made sure that you do not have to fear rampaging hordes or murderous bandits descending on your community at any moment. Thanks to us, you have been able to enjoy peace and plenty, where before you would have lived in abject poverty and at the mercy of any villainous beast who would demand that you give up your hard-earned property to him. We have made great, painful sacrifices, we have seen close friends and comrades die on the battlefield, and risked our lives countless times, all in order for you to have decent, proper lives.

Now we ask for a small thing in return. We ask that some of you, who wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't for us, move aside in order for beasts who haven't been able to enjoy a decent meal, a roof over their heads or proper clothes in seasons to finally get to live decent lives. And we will escort you to your new homes and help you settle down again, just as we did fifteen seasons ago. I really don't think that's too much to ask for."

The squirrel's tirade made most of the crowd fall silent; while they still weren't happy with the orders Shawn had given, it was pointless to debate such things with Urthblood's soldiers, and reluctantly, they also knew that he had a point. They did owe their peaceful and relatively prosperous lives to Urthblood. Perhaps it was only reasonable that the rats should move to make way for the new arrivals, and to prevent conflicts with them.

When it seemed he'd managed to force the crowd into submission, Shawn continued with his previous orders:

"Now, in order to get this over with as quickly as possible, I want all rats to return to their homes and gather their belongings for the trip. Only take what possessions and affects you can personally carry; anything else, like furniture or large stocks of sundry items will either be sent for you at a later date, or you will receive compensation for them. You will meet back here within one hour."

After some hesitation and grumbling, the rats in the crowd separated from their fellows to do the squirrel's bidding, and the rest of the gathering soon dispersed, disheartened at the prospect that so many of their fellow villagers would be forced to leave. Although Kopec had always had a hard time to connect with other beasts, several of the other rats had forged close friendships with the woodlanders. It was a testament to the effectiveness of Urthblood's experiments, that even with all the bumps and obstacles that still remained, creatures of two species that had previously lived in conflict and hatred for each other since times immemorial could reach out and form such close bonds of friendship and respect. And now, when it seemed that the two groups really had put all enmities aside, the rats would be forced to leave their adopted homes simply because some arriving beasts couldn't stand the fact that they happened to be rats? It felt so demoralizing, as if they would have to go back to square one when it seemed that the goal of the experiment had practically been achieved.

Kopec and Nisha made their way back to their cabin with heavy hearts, and started packing their belongings in couple of sacks and baskets lying around. Per the squirrel's instructions, they didn't take any of the heavier objects in their home, fervently hoping that he had spoken the truth when he said they would be sent for later. As it was, they mostly packed things needed for the journey, like extra clothes, food (including a few loafs of his mother's wonderful bread) and drink, a cooking pan so they could have some warm meals, some tools that could be useful in the forest, some simple jewelry and pieces of copper for trading and a few personal trinkets that held some meaning to them. His mother took a few books that she'd bought from passing merchants, mostly travel accounts and poetry collections; although Kopec had never learned to read, his mother was usually kind enough to read aloud for him.

Kopec brought with him a small wooden flute, which he'd owned since before he came to Conwyn. His brother had carved it in his youth and had been a good player; when he noticed that Kopec loved hearing him playing his instrument he had taught him how to play as well. When he had left with Urthblood, he gave the flute to his little brother as something to remember him by, encouraging him to continue practicing. He had done so, and through lots of diligent effort, and quite a bit of helpful instruction from Alwyn, he had become quite skilled at it, able to play several pretty notes and melodies. One of the few times when he was actually well-liked and popular with the people of the village was when he would play the flute during weddings, feasts and other joyous occasions. He had also played the instrument during a couple of funerals, as the melody that he was the best at performing was a very sad yet eerily beautiful dirge; ever since his brother's death, he had often been heard playing it alone by himself.

If there was something that he might have wished to dedicate his life to, some calling or profession that he might have wanted to enter, it would probably be playing the flute. But he had known that that would be absurd; in a small village like Conwyn, you weren't of much use to anyone if the only thing you were really skilled at was playing an instrument.

When they had finished gathering their possessions, the two rats left their home to walk back to the gathering point, Kopec carrying most of the burden. On their way, they met up with Alwyn, the mouse who had always been kind to them and helped them, even when some of the other citizens of Conwyn demanded that no rats should ever be allowed to live in the village. He had helped them build their house, supported them both financially and emotionally when times were rough, and he had always been kind and gentle with Kopec, even when the rat hadn't been the nicest and warmest of beasts, including of course taking so much time to help him with his flute-playing. He was probably the closest to a real friend that he had ever had in the village, and the reason that it couldn't be called a true friendship was entirely the rat's own fault; he had never really returned the mouse's affection and warmth, and so it felt as if Kopec was the one who had gotten everything out of the relationship without giving much back in return.

Nisha gave tearful goodbye to the mouse, thanking him for all he had done for them as she wrapped her paws around his shoulders. Afterwards, the mouse looked at Kopec, who had put the sacks and bags on the ground while trying to think of something fitting to say.

"Eh, I… thank you for all the help you've given us and… I really appreciate how good you've been to me. I hope we'll see each other again someday and… and…"

The rat trailed off in his clumsy attempt to give a proper farewell when he noticed how Alwyn was looking at him. His eyes were so concerned, so sympathetic and pitying and sad over the rat's situation, that seeing it made something burst in his heart. It reminded him of how much he truly owed to the mouse, all the things he'd done for him and what a wonderful friend he had always been to him and his mother… and how little Kopec had done to repay him.

Kopec was usually steadfast in not letting anyone besides his mother see him cry; it was a sign of weakness, as far as he was concerned, and since he wasn't exactly highly thought of in the village most beasts would probably react with scorn and contempt to his tears rather than pity. But now he couldn't help himself; he felt water starting to well up within his eyes and his body start to shiver, and he cast down his eyes to the ground in shame as tears started streaming down his cheeks.

There was no trace of either scorn or contempt in Alwyn's voice as he spoke, only utmost concern and compassion:

"Kopec, what's the matter? Why are you so upset?"

Kopec looked up again with tearstained eyes, his lips pursed and quivering, before he finally managed to summon up the strength for a response:

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Alwyn… You've been nothing but kind to me ever since I came here… and I have done so little in kind… shown you so little gratitude… I've been so cold and unpleasant to the people living here… They hate me, and it's entirely my fault… They're probably only glad that I'm leaving, and they should be… You're the only one who still consider me worth having around and being with… and I've been so ungrateful and tried to push you away, just like I did everybeast else trying to be nice to me… I don't deserve your… I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…"

At first, the elderly mouse could only stare at the crying rat in amazement. Then he quickly walked over to him and held Kopec in a tight embrace, and the rat wrapped his own paws around Alwyn's back. Alwyn wasn't very tall, even for a mouse, and the rat was naturally larger in growth, standing almost a head taller. But as Kopec leaned over the shoulder of the smaller rodent, his tears flowing onto his tunic, the mouse seemed like the stronger, larger beast. He rocked the rat slowly back and forth, almost like a baby, caressing the fur on the back of his head in a gentle and comforting gesture.

"Sshhh, it's alright Kopec, it's alright… There is no need to be so upset. You've had a difficult life, I know, and some beasts just don't have an easy time being friendly or make connections with others. It doesn't mean that you're a bad person or that you don't deserve compassion and respect. I know that beneath that moody exterior, you're a truly good creature…"

Kopec wished he could believe him, but he was so unsure if it was really true. Was he actually a good person? As he hadn't shown true selflessness and courage very often, he just didn't know.

Alwyn continued comforting him: "Listen, no-one hates you. It's true that we can sometimes get upset or irritated with you when you get angry at things we thought were friendly questions or harmless jokes, but that doesn't mean we hate you. You do have a strong temper, and maybe you should try to control it better, but lots of beasts have that. I know you don't say these things to hurt anyone; you just can't help but be offended by some things, and it's difficult for you to express it any other way."

He then leaned back and took Kopec's face in his paws. "And as for not showing me proper gratitude for what I've done for you, I never expected anything more. Talking with you, guiding you through life, teaching you how to play the flute… all that has meant so much to me, and it's been such a joy for me to do it. You have given me so much in return. You have nothing to apologize for that in that regard.

Like any beast, you have faults and problems, things that you may need to work on to grow and improve. That's part of how we all are, and doesn't say anything about our worth or whether we're good or bad. And let me tell you something: the fact that you are so deeply sorry for it, that you recognize your faults as such, is pretty clear evidence to me that you really are a goodbeast, deep inside…"

He bid Kopec to stand up and lifted his paw to his cheeks to wipe away his tears. "Now dry your tears, my friend. What's done is done, and there's no point bemoaning the bad choices you have made in the past. All that matters is that you learn from your mistakes, and strive to do better in the future." He gave a warm smile. "It's what your brother would have said, isn't it?"

Kopec couldn't help but give a little chuckle at that, knowing that it was true, as corny as it might sound. He gave a last, grateful hug to the mouse, and then lifted his bags and walked over to his mother. Her eyes were brimming with tears too, but they were tears of joy, not the angry, hurtful ones that often followed when they had argued with each other. She suddenly wrapped her arms around her son, forcing him to drop his pack a second time to return it. When they turned back to Alwyn, he was once again giving them his concerned, mournful look.

"Take good care of each other. You will need it for the journey ahead."

"We will," the two rats said, almost in concert.

"And when you have settled in your new homes, wherever it is, and once we have convinced the former slaves that will arrive here that you are nothing like the rats who ruled over them, will you come and visit?"

"Of course."

"Well, then I guess this is goodbye…" He went up and took their both their paws in his own, giving them one last loving look, before turning around and walking back to the centre of the village.

Kopec and Nisha gave each other a warm smile, and lifted up their things to continue to the meeting place. Around them, the other rats of Conwyn were walking with heavy steps to the spot where Urthblood's soldiers would escort them to places unknown. Despite the dreary atmosphere around him and the unknown future to which he was going, Kopec felt better than he had in a long while. It had truly felt good to open his heart to someone, to be able to apologize for things that had long weighed on his conscience, to know that Alwyn still loved and cared for him. It had given him hope to better himself, to be a better son and friend than he'd been before. He smiled as he felt that Alwyn's, and Liam's, bright and cheery advice perhaps hadn't been so foolish after all.

When they arrived at edge of the village, they had to wait a little longer for all the rats to show up. Shawn had sent about half of his troops into Conwyn to "aid" them in collecting their belongings more quickly. There was a lot of grumbling among the gathered beasts who hadn't had time to get all their things in time. Apparently, some rats had attempted to use carts to be able to load on more and heavier objects to take with them, but the squirrels had told them to cease that, an order which no-one liked but no-one dared to challenge.

When the rats were all gathered, Shawn made a quick count of them. There were twenty-two rats living in Conwyn, and twenty-two rats were gathered in front of him. Assured that all the beasts they'd come to collect were with them, he ordered his fellows to form a ring around them, "to better guide and protect you", and then turned toward the road leading out of the village.

"Alright, we'll walk for a few hours to the coast, where we will take a short rest and get some food, before we continue to for few hours more. With any luck, we should be at your new homes before evening. Now, march!"

Kopec put a comforting paw on his mother's shoulder, before he hoisted his packing on his shoulders and followed the retinue out of Conwyn. He hadn't heard of any settlements around here so close to the coast, but then he didn't visit the sea very often, so maybe there was some newly built place he didn't know of. With bags over their shoulders and baskets under their arms and a mixture of uncertainty and hope in their hearts, the two rats began the journey to whatever future the fates had decided for them.

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_If this chapter had been written today, and Wing had helped with editing, I would definitely have tried to tone down the ridiculous wall-of-text at the start. "Show, Don't Tell", indeed… But this was my first attempt at a real novella, and since these characters had only appeared in this fic I couldn't think of any better way to tell their backstory. I hope you were able to read it without too much trouble anyway. It's another part of this story that, despite it's amateurish quality, still means quite a lot to me. _

_Also, by the time this was written, I had a rather loose grasp of just what separated Mossflower from the Northlands and Southsward. I just thought they were all part of Mossflower, and the other two were just the northern and southern parts of it. I edited some of that for the posting on this site, but I think it still pops up in places. It's really frustrating that there's no real name for the part of whatever world the Redwall series takes place; "The Lands" just seems far too vague and confusing. _

_Thank you for your kind reviews. I really appreciate them. _


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Gavin had been travelling with his soldiers and the over one hundred and sixty beasts that had recently been freed from the slave ships of the searats for a little over two hours. The road leading to River's End through the thick Northlands forests was not very well maintained, being constantly mired with puddles of muddy water, jagged rocks sticking up through the soil and roots tearing up the earth and acting as tripwires for any beast not being careful to watch where it was going. Although they made good speed under the circumstances, it was clear that the journey would take a little longer than the shrew had hoped.

Still, it didn't seem like anybeast in the group was complaining. Aside from the occasional grumble when someone stepped into a puddle, stubbed a toe on a rock or stumbled over a root, the faces and voices around him were uniformly bright and cheery. The slaves (former slaves, but it was still difficult not to think of them as such) were so relieved and overjoyed at their new freedom, that any obstacles on the journey to the village seemed so small and inconsequential that they weren't worth thinking about.

As he looked at the creatures from the Seafoam, it seemed, even though they were still as thin and dirty as ever, as if they were somehow healthier and stronger than before, and it probably wasn't just the small meal they'd received at the beginning of their trip. The knowledge that they were finally freed from the whips and watchful eyes of their overseers had infused them with a newfound energy and purpose, quickening their steps to get to their goal faster. It was amazing to see that the creatures that had walked down the gangways of the searat ship looking as if the only thing they could ever hope for was to die relatively quickly in the mines at Baro now shone with hope and determination.

The former slaves had continued to heap praise on their liberators, and some had even broken into a song about freedom that the searats had apparently failed to beat out of their heads during their enslavement. The soldiers escorting them looked immensely proud, and Gavin couldn't help but laugh at the fact that some even seemed to be blushing at all the overwhelming praise and adulation they were receiving. Despite any difficulties they encountered on their trip, the whole crowd was bustling with joy, enthusiasm and optimism, making the longer-than-expected journey seem like a short, pleasant stroll.

Still, Gavin had found the time to talk with some of his protégés about their life and experiences under searat bondage. He was particularly interested in hearing from the inborn slaves from the Albatross: everyone knew the horror stories from the beasts slaving in the seavermin's outlying mines, mills and quarries, but it wasn't everyday you got to talk to someone who'd grown up in the heart of their society.

In particular, he had come across a fellowship of three beasts that seemed to travel together, composed of a young adolescent female badger, an elderly female otter and a male stoat. He started conversing with them, and found out that the badger's name was Myrdden, the otter was called Estelle and the stoat Devon. Myrdden had lost her mother to fever at a young age; she didn't know her father, as she had been the result of a brief relationship that had ended when he was reassigned to a crop tract on a different island. After her mother's death, she had been taken care of by Estelle and Devon. The otteress was the only one among the three who had been born in Mossflower, and had vague memories of it before she and her parents were captured. Her mother was a seamstress and her father a tailor, which was the reason that they were sent to work in various textile plants and sewing shops, and they'd taught their skills to their daughter while in captivity. Devon, younger than the otter but still approaching his middle years, had been made a slave when a cub, his parents having been corsairs allied with the searats. They had tried to betray them and steal a large stock of valuables, but had been caught and executed. The captain in charge of their execution had first wanted to kill him too, but one of the searats working in the crew had taken pity on him and convinced the captain to instead sell him to a slave camp where he could be taken care of by the workers there. He had been sent to such a camp, and was adopted by Estelle, whom he'd regarded as his closest friend ever since. Several seasons later, the two had in turn adopted Myrdden.

They were all from the same compound of workshops and factories on Cerus on the outskirts of a searat town called Khalgory, owned by a rat by the name of Volgun, a former commander who had retired and grown wealthy on selling textiles and clothing across the searat isles. He had been allowed the acquisition of a number of valuable inborn slaves, and had expanded his business further, getting more slaves as time went on, until he established himself as the foremost textile manufacturer in Tratton's empire. He had actually treated his slaves decently, at least by searat standards, giving them proper food, quartered them in specially built barracks that were warm and spacious, had allowed them some free time occasionally and had taken care of those who were sick or injured. When you owned creatures that were less likely to rebel and possessed several specialized skills that could be used in your workshops, it paid off in the long run.

Although slavery had long been an ingrained part of searat culture, Tratton had always held a deep suspicion of them, and wouldn't allow them on the main isle of Terramort, which his empire shared its name with, nor on any ship that he travelled on, being paranoid of revolts and assassination attempts. Estelle had worked on the island when she was younger, but had been transferred off it shortly after the searat king's rise to power.

Myrrden had worked with yarn formation, washing, spinning and plying cotton, wool, linen and hemp, while Estelle had worked with the finished fabrics, knitting, weaving, sewing and embroidering the fabrics into clothing, carpets, furnishings and other items. Devon, not being as skilled as the other two in the more specialized aspects of textile manufacturing, had been assigned to more rough labour, such as unloading the raw fibres imported from other parts of the empire, packing the resulting materials into crates and sending away them to either markets to be sold to the searat public, or to branches of Tratton's military forces that Volgun had made deals with.

As they continued talking, the shrew couldn't help but notice that the badgergirl sometimes seemed rather nervous and glanced about warily at the forest they were journeying through.

"What's the matter, Myrdden?" he asked. "You seem… tense. Is there something worrying you?"

The badger looked a little embarrassed that she'd seemed so frightened.

"No… it's nothing really. It's just the… forest itself."

"The forest?"

"Yes. There are barely any trees on Terramort, or Cerus, let alone forests. This is actually the first time I've ever been in one. It feels so… huge and dark and looming, like there could be something hiding behind every tree."

Gavin was shocked at this, even though it actually did make sense. She had never been in a forest before? He couldn't imagine anyone not having walked under the shade of the pines, birches, maples and ashes, at least not fellow woodlanders (though he did wonder whether these beasts could really be called "woodlanders" accurately). It was another example of how lifelong separation from your ancestral homeland could affect you.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't know. Yes, I guess it must be a rather unusual feeling to walk through these densely packed woods, if you've grown up on the barren searat isles. Don't worry though; we cleared these woods of bandits and nastybeasts long ago. No-one will harm you when we're around."

The badger smiled: "I know that I'm not in any real danger, I'm just so unused to this new land, that's all."

The shrew gave her a friendly but pointed look: "This is the land of your parents and ancestors, young one. I'd say this is your true homeland."

Myrdden frowned, looking a little skeptical at his statement: "I don't know. It doesn't really feel like that. I know I should feel like I've always belonged here and that I've finally come to my true home, but… for all its faults, the searat isles is still the only home I've ever known."

Afraid that she would appear ungrateful (though the shrew had actually had those exact same thoughts himself), she quickly added: "Don't misunderstand me! I'm very grateful to be free at last, and I appreciate being able to see the land that I've only heard my parents and elder beasts talk about. But it's all so very… strange and new."

"Yes, it is," Estelle added. "I mean, we have only ever known servitude and control; I may have been born here in Mossflower and I do have remember a few things about a free life, but I have been slave for so long, long before Tratton became king in fact, that it doesn't make much difference."

"Indeed," the stoat spoke up. "It's a bit like… like escaping from a slave galley in a dinghy: you're finally free of the tyranny of your overseers, but you're lost in the middle of the ocean and don't know the way home. It's liberating, but frightening at the same time."

"Yes," the shrew responded, having pondered about this matter recently, after having first seen the reactions of the Albatross slaves when their freedom was announced. "It's just so difficult for me to image, how anybeast can actually get used to slavery…"

"Understand, we didn't like being slaves, not one bit," Devon said. "But we had never known anything else, we had nothing to compare our lives to, and it simply became the normal state of affairs. But now that we are free, I look forward to being able to do what I want with my life, and I'm sure the other slaves are too."

"Besides," Estelle said, looking at the rag-dressed creatures from the Seafoam walking along them, "in comparison to the poor, wretched beasts from those mines, I think we were very lucky to end up on Volgun's textile plantation."

"Yes, about that," Gavin asked, returning to the subject they'd talked about previously, "you, Estelle, were one of Volgun's senior and most trusted slaves, I gather?"

"I was," the otter responded. "Since I was the one in charge of making the actual garments and the best one at it, I would sometimes sew or weave fine clothes, tapestries. carpets and other products by special order or as gifts for one of the higher-ups in the searat hierarchy, including the ones in the court around Tratton. At one occasion, I oversaw the production of a lovely dress, made of silk bought from merchants from some far-off land I don't remember the name of, for the searat king's wife, Queen Regelline, to be worn to a ball he had organized for his highest officers and allies." She gave a wry smile to the shrew. "I hope you won't have me arrested for 'aiding and giving support to the enemy' for that?"

"I think we can pardon you," the shrew laughed. "Otherwise we'd have to imprison a large part of the slaves that'll be coming to our shores."

"Anyway, it was a large success, and made Volgun several contracts to deliver his wares to Tratton or his officers. Since then he always valued me more than any other of his workers. He gave me greater freedoms, and even offered to allow me to stay in a room in his villa. I politely turned it down; it wouldn't have been fitting to live in comfort apart from my fellows in the barracks.

Sometimes, he would even allow me to make errands to the nearby town, to give messages, make orders for fabrics and materials and to buy some things needed at his workshops. It allowed me to see a little of the world outside of the barracks and factories, and even to pick up some news, gossips and rumours from the beasts I came in contact with."

"Very interesting," Gavin said, "If I may ask, did you ever hear anything about Urthblood from the rats. I'd like to hear what they actually think of him."

Estelle smirked. "Well, the imperial propaganda portrays the badger as a monstrous, blood-soaked conqueror bent on slaughtering all searats, and the war against him as a fight for their very survival. Most slaves who heard about him regarded him as a distant glimmer of hope, and secretly cheered for him in his fight against Tratton, though woe to anyone who was caught doing so. Aside from that, there was little concrete news about him or the wars in Mossflower; the captains and corsairs in the navy were supposed to keep quiet about their activities. Some events managed to slip through of course, despite Tratton's best effort to keep them hidden; in particular, there was that battle at the badger's mountain where the searats lost several large ships, wasn't there?"

Gavin nodded; the otteress was referring to a huge battle last spring when the searat king had tried to invade Salamandastron with the aid of four dreadnoughts, the capital ships of his navy, but had been soundly defeated by a surprise attack from the seagulls the badgerlord had recently allied with, who had come flying over the ships and dropped glass orbs filled with liquid fire and burning acid on them. All four dreadnoughts had been destroyed and nearly a thousand rats killed, in what was the single most costly defeat the badger had dealt his opponent in their war.

Estelle continued: "Well, it's safe to say that most of the rats in Tratton's empire are pretty terrified of the badger; I've actually heard that some searat mothers manage to calm their unruly children by threatening that if they don't behave, Urthblood will come and get them!"

The four beasts laughed a little at this, and then the shrew continued his inquiries.

"So what happened when you were taken to the ships to be transported to us? I take it that Volgun couldn't have been very happy at losing all his workers?"

"He certainly wasn't, but in the end there was nothing he could do; it was a direct order from Tratton, and no-one gainsays an order from the searat king. In the end, he had to let us go. He simply came to us one day and ordered us to pack up our belongings and follow him to the main gates of his compound where a group of soldiers were waiting to escort us to the Albatross."

"To be honest," Myrrden announced quietly, "I actually felt a little sorry for him at the time." On receiving another round of surprised looks, she went on: "Well, he treated us rather well for a slave-owner. We were indeed lucky to be working for him; our life at his textile factory was about as good a life as a slave can hope to get under the searats. With us gone, how will he keep up his business?"

"Maybe he'll just have to hire some actual paid labour," the otteress quipped, not looking very sympathetic with the rat's employment problems, and then gave a stern look to the badger. "And keep in mind, the reason that he treated us decently was because it increased productivity at his workshops and made more profit for him, not because he was genuinely concerned for our well-being. We were workers that he could exploit, nothing more!"

Devon gave a smirk, and then added, "Actually, I don't think he was sorry to see us go just because it would deprive him of labour… You see, Volgun had a special vice that he…"

"Devon!" Estelle gave a hard look at the stoat. "I don't think we should talk about this when Myrdden is around."

"I'm not a child anymore," the badger said, annoyed. "I know all about that!"

The otter didn't look happy at this, but reluctantly allowed the stoat to continue.

"Well, what I was going to say was, Volgun had a certain… fondness for some of the beasts working for him, if you know what I mean…" Gavin's eyes widened and stared at the stoat; so those anecdotes he'd heard where true? "He would sometimes order one of the prettier females up to his villa to spend a night in bed with him. As he owned them, and could therefore legally do whatever he desired with them, there was no way for them to refuse.

And the thing is, he wasn't just interested in girls…" The shrew's eyes widened further. "There were a few times when he called upon a malebeast to give him pleasure." From the tone of his voice, Gavin couldn't tell if the stoat was angrily condemning the rat, or telling it like a particularly raunchy joke. "I have a friend, a pretty fox who's travelling with this crowd today, who happened to catch his fancy in particular. He was actually taken to Volgun's house on several separate evenings, and the following mornings he would return, eyes downcast, walking funnily…"

"That's enough, Devon!" Estelle barked at him. Devon immediately ceased talking and averted his gaze.

"Sorry. I went too far there."

What little respect and admiration Gavin had actually gained for the rat at hearing about how he treated his slaves disappeared in a simmering cloud of rage when he heard that he had done such disgusting things to some of them. It was just as he had thought; no matter how "kind" or "decent" a slave-owner might be, the power to decide over the life and death of his servants always led him to abuse them sooner or later, even in ways that weren't related to the work they did for him.

Estelle did have a few more things to say about the matter. "He never harmed them, at least not beyond the usual physical discomfort such acts bring. He would often try to give them things afterwards, like small gifts or extra free time, which of course only made the whole thing more painful for the beasts he'd taken, as they didn't want to accept rewards for having had to do something so unpleasant and demeaning. I think it was a way for him to feel better about what he did."

Gavin turned to ask the otter about something, thinking about the fact that she had been such a trusted servant to Volgun and had been offered to stay at his house, but he quickly realized how utterly rude and disrespectful it would be, and immediately closed his mouth. She seemed to have noticed however, and knew what he had wanted to ask.

"No. I was probably too old for him. He preferred younger beasts."

The shrew waited for the tension between them to die down a bit, and then tried to steer the conversation away from its recent unpleasant course.

"So, Devon, you're a stoat. You worked alongside woodlanders… eh, creatures like otters, mice, badgers, hedgehogs and such. Was there ever any conflict between you and them, or between the foxes, stoats, weasels and such and them?"

Devon looked a little puzzled by the shrew's question, then pondered about it for a while.

"Well… not really, no. Some of them, usually those who had been taken directly from Mossflower, didn't particularly like me or some of the foxes and the like, and tried to avoid us whenever possible. But when you slaved under the searats, you didn't exactly have much choice in who you'd work and live with, and you had bigger problems than worrying about the species of every one of your comrades. After awhile you usually accepted your fellow beasts regardless of what they'd happened to be born as. Now, I do know that there's some kind of conflict between the… "vermin", I think you call them, and so-called "goodbeasts" in these lands. That's probably why some of them didn't like us over there."

"Yes. The thing is, Devon, that these two groups, the foxes, rats, stoats and so on being called "vermin" and the badgers, hedgehogs and mice being called "woodlanders", have been at each others throats for generations beyond remembrance. The vermin often travelled in large hordes or groups of raiders and pillaged and terrorized the woodlanders, who in turn became hardened and hostile to all vermin, even those who never did any harm, which only cemented the conflict between them.

However, that has gradually started to change with the rise of Urthblood. You see, his goal isn't just to liberate the slaves from the searats, but to end this ancient feud and bring all the species of the lands together. He has recruited many soldiers from both groups, defeated the hordes that previously plagued these regions and allowed the survivors to settle as peaceful farmers and workers, and has managed to create communities where vermin and woodlanders live in peace together."

The stoat was very impressed with these achievements, but also a little concerned about what it meant for him personally.

"So, that village where you're taking us, you don't think the beasts there will have any problems with me being a stoat, or with the other "vermin" in this crowd?"

"I don't think there'll be too much trouble. Unfortunately, there's still some resentment between the two sides in most of the lands, with the old hatreds refusing to die so easily. The place we're taking you to, however, already has a couple of vermin living there, and it's known for its hospitality and friendliness to all creatures. You might receive some colds stares and slurs from some of the beasts who still haven't gotten used to regarding stoats as friends, but it's very unlikely there'll be anything worse than that."

Devon nodded, looking reassured with the shrew's answer. Myrdden, however, looked to the shrew with an inquiring look.

"This just reminded me of something. I don't think all the slaves were released from Volgun's compound."

Gavin was surprised. "Oh? And why is that? Was there someone we or the searats overlooked?"

"Actually, there were a few rats working there. I think they came there the same way as most of his slaves, their parents being rats from Mossflower who were captured and had their children on the searat isles. However, when we were given over to the soldiers to be escorted to the ship, they held up the rats in the group and they were left behind. I thought they were just going to check on them about something and then allow them to continue, but we made our way to the docks and boarded the Albatross without them ever coming. Why is that?"

Gavin cursed at himself; why hadn't he thought about this before? Of course they wouldn't release the rat slaves, since the treaty with Urthblood had stated… Never mind, he quickly had to think of something to say… In the end, he settled on the same excuse the officers who'd went to the other villages had been instructed to give.

"Well… Urthblood felt that, since the slaves had lived for so long under the tyranny and mistreatment of the searats, it wouldn't be wise to have them to travel with or settle in the lands with the rats who'd been enslaved themselves, as they might regard them and their captors as one and the same; it might even lead to violence. As such, it was decided that the rats would be freed after all the other slaves had released. Don't worry; I'm sure they'll come over with other ships in the near future."

Myrdden and her two companions didn't look entirely pleased with this answer, but said nothing more about the matter. Meanwhile, Gavin felt his heart ache over having told the beasts he'd just befriended a bold-faced lie… and over the truth that the lie concealed.

For the rest of the trip, they confined their conversations to simpler, trivial things; the kind of idle matters you talked with other beasts about when you were trying to get to know them. A little over an hour later, they finally arrived at River's End. Gavin presented the freed slaves to the village elders, who welcomed the slaves with kind, friendly words. Before long, many of the villagers scurried about to prepare warm baths, salves and bandages and proper clothes for them, and began preparations for the feast that would be held later that night for the slaves to celebrate their freedom.

Gavin and his troops couldn't stay long; they had to get back to the shore as soon as possible to meet up with their comrades and the beasts they escorted. After a quick meal and some rest, the shrews and squirrels of the contingent sent to the Northlands holstered their weapons and prepared too leave, but not before some of beasts they'd guided to River's End came out to thank them once more. Gavin received another tearful hug from the hedgehog Caful, which he could only return with great care, naturally, and assured him that he would return tonight for the feast and that tomorrow he would take him to Torn to meet his family again.

It was a very heartwarming scene, but Gavin couldn't help but feel rather crestfallen as he gave the orders to begin their march back to the ships. Escorting the slaves to River's End had been easy; now came the truly difficult and unpleasant part of their mission…

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It hadn't exactly been a pleasant trip, but the rats and the squirrels "guiding" them finally made it to the coast after marching for roughly two hours. They didn't actually go all the way to the shore, instead stopping for their promised rest in a meadow on the outskirt of the forest a short walk away from the sea, its waters visible only as a thin, blue-grey line against the horizon, and the actual shoreline hidden by small hills and mounds on the coastal plains.

Kopec and his mother sat down and opened one of their bags to take out some spiced bread and a jar of blackberry jam for a late lunch. Before they began to eat, Nisha insisted that they should give some of their food to the rats in the group who hadn't managed to bring with them anything for a meal. They did so, to the delight of several of their travel companions; they even offered some to the soldiers guarding them, some of which accepted. As they took the bread, Kopec could have sworn that he saw a look of remorse on one of the squirrels; maybe he felt bad about accepting food from one of the beasts he had forced to leave their homes. Then they returned to their spot on the ground, rested their tails on the grass and began to tuck in on their simple, but delightful travel fare.

Kopec had thought they were only supposed to stop at the meadow for a quick break, but they actually had to wait for nearly an hour before something happened. From the thick of the forest, another group of beasts emerged, this time a mix of shrews and squirrels who also looked like soldiers of Urthblood. The squirrels were carrying the same weapons as the ones who'd brought them here from Conwyn, the shrews carrying the typical shortswords and slings common to their kind, and both had those wooden clubs hanging from their belts. The commander of the new arrivals, a shrew, stepped forward and received a salute from Shawn, apparently being his superior.

"Greetings, sir!" Shawn said. "I trust everything went well?"

"It did," the shrew responded. "They were all delivered to River's End in good shape. Sorry for being a little late, but the road was in worse condition than we had expected."

"No problem. Things went well on our side, all things considered. Niven and Gus should be returning shortly; I hope things went smoothly for them too."

The rat wondered what they were up to. Who were Gus and Niven, and what had they been doing? The answer came half an hour later when another group of soldiers, under the command of another shrew, arrived at the meadow… escorting another group of rats.

As he looked closer at the new arrivals, Kopec saw that he recognized some of the rats. They were from Gleamshire, a village not far from Conwyn that he and his mother had visited a couple of times to deliver some of their wares. Not long afterwards, yet another contingent of troops arrived, led by a squirrel, and they too were guiding a little over a score of rats. The new arrivals all looked as low-spirited as the one' from Conwyn, and seemed just as surprised as they were at seeing there were other rats from nearby settlements gathered here.

Noticing their surprise, the shrew who seemed to be the one in charge called for attention and attempted to answer their concerns:

"Well met, everybeast! I'm commander Gavin, and I'm the one in charge of this operation, that I'm sure you've already been told about, of receiving the recently freed slaves, and to guide you to your new homes. If you're wondering why there are so many of you here, some of the former slaves, which I have been escorting to River's End to recuperate from their horrible experiences, are looking to settle at the villages of Torn, Conwyn and Gleamshire. As such, I'm afraid we had to evacuate you from all three villages. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of room for you where you're going."

Kopec was speechless. Did the former slaves coming to Mossflower really hate rats so much that they refused to set their hindpaws in any town where they lived? Could they really not tell the difference between the ones who'd tyrannized them and the ones simply trying to make an honest, peaceful living without doing any harm to others? And if so, why in the name of Hellgates didn't Urthblood simply find some other place in the lands for them to live; why did the rats have to leave their homes? He didn't believe for a second that the reason they were evicted was because there weren't enough room for both of them. There was something very odd about all this, something that Gavin and his soldiers were hiding…

He didn't have much time to ponder about this before the shrew called for them to gather their things and continue their journey; apparently, it wasn't far now until they'd reach their destination. The rats picked up their belongings, gathered their children and loved ones to them, and followed the soldiers out of the woods to the coastal plains.

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Gavin hung at the back of the moving crowd, and called Shawn to him. Trying to keep his voice down as much as possible, he asked: "You know how we're going to proceed with this now, don't you?"

"Of course; we get the rats onto the dock, you talk with that seascum Fargul about how many beasts will be delivered to him, and I'll set up the soldiers in the perimeter of the area. Then you hold a little speech to the rats, trying to break the news as gently as possible, and then we close in and start herding them onto the ships, preferably nudging them along with our paws and the butt of our spears; if it turns bad we may have to use the clubs to beat them into submission. If it turns really bad, we may have to resort to our bladed weapons. The searats will take care of them once they're on the ships, and when we're done, we return to River's End and await further orders from Urthblood."

"Good. Try not to be too violent if things should come to blows." The shrew sighed and quickened his steps. "Well, let's just try and get this whole thing over with…"

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_The main part of this chapter doesn't really add much to the plot. It was mostly meant to fill out space and to give us a few more characters to care about other than Gavin and Kopec._

_It was also meant to give some insight into the searats' society, family life and culture to make them a little more sympathetic. Volgun is meant to be a morally ambiguous contrast to the terrifying slave masters at places like the lumber mill in TSW; a guy who treats his slaves decently, but mostly does so because it increases his own profits (not to mention being a bisexual rapist). _

_Of course, seeing as the canonicity of this story is unclear, how much of the description of their home isles and society is accurate is up for grabs. I don't know whether Highwing will contradict the information provided here in future stories, so take it as it is: my own vision of how things might be. _


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Kopec was surprised when they didn't go to the south as he'd expected, but instead seemed to head directly to the beach. Passing over the mounds of grass and sand that had blocked their view of the shore before, the rats stopped. Down at the shore, someone had built a pier, and at the pier two large ships were moored, their gangways extended to it. At the pier also stood about a dozen more of the badgerlord's soldiers, waiting for their comrades to return with their protégés; they were carrying spears, rather than the bows and short swords of the ones who had brought them to this place.

Once again, the rat was stymied in finding an explanation for this. They were obviously meant to board those ships, but why? Couldn't they travel by foot any further down Mossflower? Was there some remote island where they were going to be abandoned? It didn't make any sense!

Sensible or not, the rats were pushed down the shore and towards the wooden pier, a bit more reluctantly now, as many had the same misgivings as Kopec. After a while, they were all gathered upon the sturdy planks that served as the floor of the dock. Kopec looked closer at the two boats; he was shocked to see armoured rats standing on the deck, wearing studded leather armour and carrying vicious-looking scimitars, watching the beasts beneath them with contemptuous gazes. They didn't look like the kind of beasts Urthblood would have in his service, so who were they? They couldn't be searats, could they?

The squirrels and shrews started to position themselves in a perimeter around the dock and the rats standing on it, many of them arming themselves with spears, and then stood at attention, fixing their cold, hard stares at the rats they had escorted.

Nisha, who had never left his side ever since they left Conwyn, pressed herself closer to her son, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, and he did the same to her. Gazing at each other, her eyes expressed fear and confusion, the same emotions gripping him with their cold, clamouring paws as well.

From the leftmost ship, a rather pudgy rat walked down the gangway with a couple of the armoured beasts at his side, and the shrew commander, Gavin, went up to meet him. Kopec had the good fortune of standing rather close to the two, and he was quite good of hearing, so he managed to pick up most of what passed between them, despite their best efforts to keep their voices down.

"Alright," the shrew said, "here they are, right on time as we promised."

"Yes," the rat responded, sweeping his gaze over his distant kin, "right on time. Now, how many rats are there?"

"Thirty-one from the village of Gleamshire, twenty-six from Torn, and twenty-two from Conwyn, for a total of seventy-nine souls."

"Seventy-nine…," the rat noted the numbers in a writing pad. "You know, that's less than half of the beasts we brought here."

Beasts they'd brought here?

The shrew responded, rather irritated, "Well, it'll have to do for now. You're gonna make several more shipments, so you'll get more than enough replacements to take back to Terramort."

Replacements? And Terramort; wasn't that the home island of the searats?

The rat sighed, "Very well, no point in arguing about it now. So, we split them up between the two ships, as we agreed to?"

"Yes. You can go back to your ship now. We'll take it from here."

The rat nodded and then turned around to walk up the gangway with his bodyguards. Gavin started to walk to the front of the gathered beasts at the dock. Kopec felt his paw tighten around his mother's shoulder, and small drops of nervous sweat started to shine through the fur on his brow. What did this all mean? As he quickly thought about it, he realized that the beasts that the searats, for they could be nothing else, had brought here must've been the freed slaves that Gavin had escorted. And when they talked of "replacements" they must have meant him and the other rats that'd been brought here.

But that had to mean…? But surely they couldn't…? No! No, it just wasn't possible!

The shrew walked to stand before the rats, who all looked at him, hoping for an explanation to what was going on. The shrew looked at all the faces in the crowd, and Kopec was certain that he saw a look of regret on his features, similar to the soldiers they'd given bread to at the meadow, before he took a deep breath and raised his paws to speak to them.

"My friends! On this day, we mark a momentous decision that will forever change the lands of Mossflower and the seas of Terramort. Not long ago, his lordship, Urthblood of Salamandastron, signed a treaty with King Tratton, the ruler of the Searat Empire. This treaty stipulated that the two nations would live together side by side in peace, ending the ancient, bloody conflict that has wrought so much death and suffering to both sides. To show his goodwill and respect to the crimson badgerlord, Tratton agreed to release all slaves kept in bondage in his empire, allowing them to come here to these lands of their kin and ancestors to live as free beasts. In turn, Urthblood has decided to show his respect for the searat king by making his empire and people stronger and more prosperous than ever. He has decided to send all rats living in the lands to the searat isles."

The air was deathly still after this announcement. Gavin dared to break the silence by continuing with his oration: "In this way, all rats will have a single, unified empire to call their own. No more will you be separated into woodlander rats and searats, but will live together as a single nation like you were always supposed to..."

The shrew didn't get to continue with his words. For Kopec suddenly understood, realized exactly what Urthblood intended to do with him and with every rat in Mossflower and the Northlands…

"Slaves! They're sending us away to be slaves!"

Every pair of eyes present turned toward him, as he had shouted out his sudden realization to every beast within hearing range.

"Don't you understand? The reason that Urthblood managed to get all those slaves free is because he promised Tratton that he could put us in chains instead! They're selling us, all the rats of the lands, into slavery!"

At first, no-one dared to say anything, so shocked were they at the young rat's outburst. But when the truth dawned on the rats around him, when they understood what fate they had been condemned to, the atmosphere around the pier grew dark and violent…

Gavin tried to voice some words of protest, to deny the rat's allegation, but it was useless. The rats began to shout and raise their fists against the squirrels and shrews. The soldiers pointed their spears against them or raised their clubs, others pulled out their swords and daggers. Some of the shrews, including Gavin, loaded their slings and held them up as a sort of improvised flail, daring anyone to come close to them.

As the two sides approached each other, the air growing heavier and heavier with fear, rage and hatred, one rat dared to run forward to attack to a spear-wielding squirrel. The squirrel was so shocked by the sudden aggression that he lunged forward and impaled his foe through the chest. As the rat's lifeless body fell to the ground, some rats pulled themselves backward, cowed by the soldiers' willingness to use deadly force to accomplish their goals. Others, however, only became more enraged and surged forward against the wall of troops surrounding them, and the fight was on.

Screams, shouts, curses and the sound of clubs or the butts of spears thumping against flesh and fur reverberated in the air, occasionally interspersed with those of blades cutting through skin and flesh or loaded slings cracking bones and the resulting screams of agony wherever the fighting grew most intense. In the background was the crying of children, terrified by all the commotion and violence around them. Some rats tried to break out of the ring of fighting beasts and flee, but they were met by fists and clubs to their faces and pushed back in.

Normally, Kopec would never have dreamed of fighting anyone under these circumstances; he was too much the coward to do so, even if the odds against him hadn't been so unfair. But right now, he had forgotten all about fear and uncertainty. All he felt was hatred; hatred for what was happening to the rats of the lands, hatred towards the beasts having forced them out of their homes to board ships that would carry them to a life of suffering and oppression, hatred towards Urthblood for having caused and orchestrated all this. The knowledge that they'd been so betrayed, sold out by the creature who called himself an undying enemy of all slavers, whom Liam had given his life for in order to bring about his vision of a land where rats could live as friends and equals of all goodbeasts, filled him with a burning, seething rage and left him with nothing but a desire to lash out against the creatures who were doing this to them.

As he stepped forward, Nisha tried to restrain him, frantically begging: "Kopec, no! You have no chance, you'll be…", but he ignored her and pushed his way forth among the struggling beasts.

Despite the rats' best efforts, it was clear that they didn't stand any chance against the badgerlord's troops. There were almost as many soldiers as there were rats, they were trained warriorbeasts while few of the rats had ever been in battle and many of them were ladyfolk, children and elderly, the soldiers were armed with clubs, spears, slings and swords while the rodents had nothing but their paws, and they were surrounded on all sides. It didn't take long before the most aggressive rats had been beaten into submission, or silenced forever in a few cases, and they were gradually pushed back, towards the ships.

As Kopec looked around, however, he noticed that there was a gap in the ring of soldiers constricting itself around the rats. Through that gap, he could see the shrew commander standing a few yards behind the line of the pier, in the sand of the beach where the fighting had briefly spilled out. He was looking at the violent riot before him, his sling dangling from his right paw, with a disbelieving look on his face. Feeling another surge of rage within him, he darted through the gap, the soldiers on either side being so distracted by handling the struggling rats that they didn't notice him.

At any other time, Kopec would have taken the opportunity to run away, even knowing that there was no real chance of escaping, that the soldiers would soon notice and pursue him. But now, all he wanted was the blood of the shrew in charge of this atrocity, the one who had tried to calm them with honeyed words to make the prospect of slavery seem more palatable.

The shrew was so distracted by the violence before him and lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the rat running towards him from the side. He barely had time to look to his left before Kopec wrapped his paws around his throat, trying to strangle him with a hateful snarl on his features.

"You fucking slaver! My brother died for your master, and this is how you repay us? I'm gonna - "

Kopec was bigger and bulkier than the shrew, but he was no warriorbeast. The shrew managed to break his hold around his throat by giving him a swift punch in the middle of his chest. The rat doubled over in pain, the air punched out of his lungs. He managed to gaze up just in time to see the shrew swing his loaded sling at his face.

There was a loud crack as Kopec felt his jaw shatter and several teeth were knocked out of their sockets. He barely had time register the pain or the taste of blood in his mouth before a second swing hit him square in his right temple. The force caused him to spin around one time before he fell to the sand with a padded thump…

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Gavin was sure that he saw the rat move a little despite having smashed in the side of his head, so he raised his sling a third time and quickly brought it down at the back of his head with a sickening crunching sound. The rat gave few spasms and then lay still on the ground.

As he stood back, his paw rubbing at his throat where the rat had tried to choke him, he could do nothing but stare in chock at what he had just done. His brutal treatment hadn't just been for self-defence or to show an example to the rats being violently herded onto the ships behind him. When the rat had called him a slaver in his rage, something burst within him. He hated slavery, he had fought with Urthblood's army for several seasons precisely in order to eliminate it, and he had been told by others and told himself several times that the rats they were supposed to round up for shipment to Terramort were simply to be sent to establish their own nation along with their seafaring brethren and to make place for the poor goodbeast slaves that they were liberating, and that their eventual fate was in any event Tratton's responsibility, not theirs, not his. And to hear from one of the creatures he had escorted that he was as much a slaver as the searats, that he had betrayed them… It was simply intolerable. He had been overcome with wrath and struck his blows in rage against the creature who had dared to say those things to him… even though by doing so he had, in a sense, proven his accusations true.

As the veil of anger lifted and he was starting to feel the first pangs of remorse over his actions, he heard a piercing, agonizing scream that stood out even against the cries and shouts of the throng of creatures behind him.

"Kopec! No! No!"

Turning around, he saw a ladyrat, presumably the recently killed rat's mother going by her age, managing to disentangle herself from the crowd and run towards her fallen son. A squirrel and a shrew, who had finally noticed what had happened behind them, got to her first and forced her to her knees. Her anguished, tortured cries and the sight of her heartbroken tears felt like they were sending little icy daggers into Gavin's very soul.

Unable to hear the cries anymore, Gavin hardened his heart, pushed aside all sympathy and pity, and grabbed the hysterically sobbing ratmaid by her shoulder and the neckline of her dress, pulled her to her feet and dragged her through the crowd, which the troops had finally managed to get under some form of control, towards the docked ships.

The woodlander rats were marched at spear-point up the gangways onto deck, where the searats grabbed them and forced them into the cargo hold. In the commotion, a young ratgirl, little more than a child, who was limping up the gangplank while clutching an arm that had apparently been wounded in the scuffle with the soldiers, was pushed off by the throng of bodies walking up beside her, hit her hip on the side of the pier and fell into the dark, cold water below. She started to scream and beg for help as she frantically tried to keep herself at the surface, but no-one could come to her aid in the chaos and violence above. She wasn't a good swimmer at the best of times, and with her wounded arm and broken hip she could only stay afloat for a few moments before she sank beneath the waves, her cries eternally silenced as she disappeared from view into the sea.

Arriving at the platform to the leftmost ship, the shrew pushed the ratmaid into the arms of one of the soldiers near it, who practically had to physically hand over some of the rats to the corsairs on deck. For just a few seconds, as the squirrel held her waiting for the correct moment to push her up the planks, their eyes met. Gavin froze. He had seen that look, the exact same hateful, utterly devastated look of someone who'd just lost a loved one at the paws of another beast.

It had been several seasons ago, when Gavin had travelled with Urthblood in his campaigns across the Northlands. They had come across a band of slavers, escorting a group of unfortunate creatures with their whips and blades. They had attacked in an ambush, killing as many of the villains as possible before they could retaliate or harm any of their slaves, and made short work of the rest. However, a fox had taken a mouse among his captives as a hostage, holding a knife to his neck, and demanded that they let him go. As Gavin had tried to reason with him, one of the nearby troops had made an unexpected move towards the slaver, and the panicked fox stabbed his knife right into the mouse's throat. The poor creature had had his wife captured along with him, who saw her husband die in front of her eyes and ran up to coddle his body, and when she looked at the fox, who had been restrained and brought to his knees by the soldiers right before his execution, her look of grief-wracked hatred had been the exact same as the one the rat gave him now.

Their eye contact was mercifully broken as the squirrel holding her managed to find the opportunity to hand her over to the searats on deck, who pushed her below into the cargo hold along with the others. Most of the rats had now been forced onto the ships. There had been some risk of renewed violence as rats belonging to the same family had been taken to different ships, the panicking creatures screaming and struggling as they were forcefully separated from their loved ones, but a new round of beatings with fists and clubs had managed to quell it.

It felt like it took forever, but eventually all the rats had been brought aboard and placed below deck. There was nothing more for the woodlanders and the searats to say to each other, so without further ado, the corsairs pulled up the gangways, the shrews and squirrels released the mooring lines, the sails were hoisted and the Seafoam and the Albatross slowly began to drift away from the dock, the sounds of their new captives cries and moans still ringing from within their depths, before the wind caught in their canvas and they began their journey back to Terramort.

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Gavin was sitting on the beach, the evening sun warming it with a pleasant heat, as he watched the searat vessels shrink on the horizon. The soldiers had decided to wait a little to patch up the wounds they had sustained during the fight and get their bearings before they returned to River's End.

All over and around the wooden dock were dropped bags, food, clothes, toys and other items; few of the rats had managed to get any of their belongings with them on the ships. There were also stains of blood dotting the planks and the sand… and, occasionally, the body of a rat that had fallen during the struggle.

Gavin felt… empty inside. He knew that what he and the beasts under his command had done was wrong on so many levels, and that any outsider that had seen what just happened would have been horrified if they didn't know the reasons for them… In fact, they would probably have been horrified even if they did know the reasons. But right now, the waves of guilt and regret that should have washed over him didn't. He could only feel hollowness and exhaustion, as if his soul had been numbed by what had just occurred.

He had heard that when beasts who were good at heart were forced to do morally questionable actions, whether by desperate circumstances or by the orders of their superiors, they didn't really feel remorse and the weight of their conscience right away; you shut off your moral centre in order to do the things you knew were bad but nevertheless felt necessary. It was only later, it could take hours, days, weeks or even longer, when it re-awakened and the consequences of what you had done caught up with you, it was then that the guilt and soul-wrenching torment would begin to haunt you. The shrew felt afraid of that moment, when everything that his heart now locked away would come sweeping over him and wrack him with painful remorse and sorrow. But there was another thing that he feared even more: what if they never arrived? What if he wasn't the good creature that he hoped he was?

He thought about his life, and all the seasons he'd spent in Urthblood's service. He had first met the badger in his youth, when he helped his Northlands tribe to defeat a clan of ferrets that had been terrorizing them. Afterwards, when the badger told them of his vision of peace across the lands and between woodlanders and vermin, he had been one of the first to support him and convince the other shrews to lend their aid to his cause. He had even become friends with some of the defeated ferrets, who also lent their blades to the badgerlord's service after he had spared them. Since then, he had always been a loyal and enthusiastic servant to the standard of the Crimson Badger, and he had seen all the good things Urthblood had done for Mossflower. It was the vision to protect the lands from the coming conflict, to bring unity and prosperity to a land that had been war-torn and divided for so long, and to feel the happiness and gratitude of the beasts they protected and helped, that kept him going.

However, over the years he had also seen the badger do some… questionable things, as well. He had sometimes ordered them to kill their foes to the last one, even if they were willing to surrender, claiming that they were utterly beyond redemption even though the shrew thought that they'd pardoned worse beasts before. If he needed information about certain matters from captured enemies, especially the searats, he didn't hesitate to use methods that many would describe as torture to get it. He would sometimes use lies and misdirection to accomplish his goals, like when he had tricked his brother Urthfist into believing that he had invaded Redwall in order to draw him out of Salamandastron to be able to claim it behind his back, even though that meant manipulating the abbeybeasts he'd previously befriended.

Gavin hadn't liked those things, but he had accepted it as necessary in the long run in order to bring about the greater good. The badger had the gift of prophetic foresight which, while certainly not perfect, still allowed him a better view of the situation than anyone else, and the shrew had always trusted that his actions would turn out to be right in the end.

But in the past year, these kinds of actions had only increased and intensified in their dubiousness. He had acquired new and terrifying weapons that killed in the most horrific ways, like acid that dissolved the flesh of anyone coming into contact with it, flaming oil that burned anyone hit by it alive, and a horrible, poisonous gas that choked you to death or left you permanently crippled. This last weapon was particularly controversial, for it was rumoured that the badger had tested it on living searat prisoners. When he used it to defeat the rebel shrew Snoga, captain Saybrook had been so angered by the horrific aftermath that he resigned from his service, and took most of the otter corps with him. He had allied with the seagull king Grullon, promising him vengeance against the searats for killing and eating his brother, but when the bird had been furious that the badger made peace overtures with them, he had allowed the seagull's discontent subjects to kill him and swear direct allegiance to him instead.

And finally, when he signed the peace treaty with Tratton, he had offered the searat king all the rats of the lands in return for his slaves, whether they were his soldiers or civilians, whether they were willing or not. The first rats to be sent away had been the ones stationed at the mountain at the time, who were marched out, stripped of their weapons and then forced onto Tratton's ship at sword-point, all under badger's emotionless gaze.

Gavin really didn't know what Urthblood was thinking when he made that decision. He had said that any consequences of it were his responsibility, not anyone else's, just as the fate of the rats was Tratton's. Ever since, the shrew had tried to justify it to himself. He didn't want to abandon his master after all he had done for him and for the creatures of Mossflower, he wanted his vision to become reality and fervently hoped that everything would turn out right in the end. For if it didn't, the verdict of posterity would be hard on the badger, and himself, indeed…

Sergeant Shawn walked over to where he sat, glanced at the ocean and then quipped, "That could have gone better."

The shrew looked up at him angrily. "Well, what the hell did we expect? We took these beasts from their homes, forced them to board those searat ships, sent them away to…"

He stopped there, realizing what he had almost said. Even now, knowing that the words the rat had shouted at the dock were true deep down in his heart, he couldn't admit it to himself. He couldn't allow himself to admit it; to do so would be to confess being the kind of creature that he had fought against all his life.

He sighed. "How did we fare?"

"Nothing serious. Sami got his nose broken, and there are some cuts and bruised ribs among the troops, but nothing that will prevent us from getting to River's End on time."

The shrew then looked across the carnage at the docks, at the dead beasts lying there.

"How many rats died?"

"Seven, including the gi- eh, the rat who drowned."

Gavin mulled over the matter for awhile before giving his order.

"Bury them."

The squirrel seemed surprised at the command, not to mention rather averse to it.

"But, sir… If you don't want them lying around, we can just throw them in the ocean. It'll be a lot quicker and easier and then we can…"

"No, we bury them, you hear me!" Gavin stood up and fixed his angry, determined stare at the squirrel. "In separate graves! That's an order, Sergeant!"

Shawn was surprised at the shrew's sudden temper, and then sighed, knowing that this meant they would be late to village feast but having no choice but to do as his superior commanded.

"Even the one who drowned?"

Gavin thought about this for a moment, and then relented: "Well… no, not the one who drowned. I don't know if it's possible to get her up from the sea, and I won't ask you to try. But everyone else you will! Now get going!"

He walked past his sergeant, who scurried to relay his orders and get some shovels from the shack, to the body of the rat that he had killed with his sling - Kopec, if he'd heard right from the cries of the female he'd presumed to be his mother. His face was lying down against the sand, the blood pouring from the wounds in his head and jaw, staining the sand around him red.

As he gazed at the body, he was at last overcome with the sympathy he'd repressed during the riot to perform his orders, and he once again felt the pangs of guilt that had started as soon as the rat had died on the beach in front of him. As he was the one who had killed him, he was the one who would bury him; it didn't make up for what he had done, of course, but he felt that, in some sense, he owed it to Kopec.

He would have preferred to carry his body himself, but the rat was too heavy for that, so he had to call over one of his soldiers to help him. As they turned him around, Gavin found something tucked in his belt: a small, carved wooden flute. It was just one of the many affects that the rats had been forced to leave behind, but for some reason, he became curious about it, wondering about its history and what it had meant to the rat who carried it. After some doubt, he tucked it in his own belt, and then helped his comrade to carry the body to the burial site.

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The burial duties lasted for almost an hour, prolonged by Gavin's insistence that the rats were to be buried in separate graves. By the time they were finished, it was growing dark, and it was clear that they wouldn't get to River's End before the night arrived.

Before the rats were laid in their graves, Gavin performed a small personal ritual that he had always done after battles when he was assigned to burial duty. He took his dagger, and then stabbed it in the heart of the bodies that lay beside the newly dug graves. His comrades had always found that rather morbid, but it was something the shrew felt that he had to do. In his youth he had heard horror stories of beasts that had been presumed dead and then quickly buried in the ground, but then woke back to life only to suffocate in the darkness. Although such things, if they happened at all, were probably extremely rare, the very possibility had always frightened him. It was a fate that he did not wish upon the most evil and vile of creatures. As such, he always did these quick little acts to make sure that those about to be buried really were dead, regarding it as an act of compassion.

Immediately after they were done, they gathered and began their march towards River's End. Although they were not burdened by hungry, tired beasts who weren't used to such marches, they had to travel in the dark, upon the road that hadn't been properly maintained. They still made good speed, and managed to get to the village in slightly shorter time than it had taken for Gavin to escort the slaves there. The feast was in full swing, the villagers and the former slaves sitting at long tables or resting under the trees, feasting on food that most of the slaves had never thought they'd see again in their life. A couple of large bonfires were lit, and many creatures danced in its warm light. The sound of song, music, laughter and conversation reverberated throughout the late-summer night.

It was a wonderful feast, but Gavin and many of the returning squirrels and shrews didn't feel much like celebrating. They partook of the food that had been saved just for them, and conversed and mingled with the beasts around them, but they didn't get into the spirit of things too much. When the late hours of the night approached, and the partying died down, Gavin took his troops to a makeshift camp outside River's End to get some rest.

The next morning, he was determined to make good on his promise to escort Caful and the others who wished it to Torn. Shawn was a bit concerned as they were to wait for Altidor, Urthblood's messenger eagle, to arrive so they could give report of their mission, but Gavin insisted that he would do the trip; he'd be back later that day and the eagle could either wait or seek him out at Torn.

As he prepared himself after having chosen five of his troops to follow him, Myrdden, Estelle and Devon came out to give a warm goodbye and thank him once again. He returned their affections and then left with his small party, not noticing that the otter and stoat behind him shared a deep, loving kiss with each other…

Caful already looked a lot better than he had when the shrew last saw him. While still rather thin, it was amazing what a warm bath, new clothes and a good meal could do to you. He walked eagerly with his new friends, sometimes having to slow down for them in his haste to see his family.

It only took about an hour before they arrived at Torn. The beasts that had followed them ran into the village to meet their families. A particularly joyful scene occurred when a vole found his elderly parents, whom he hadn't seen for ten seasons. The tears in their eyes when they embraced each other, both having been convinced that they would never see each other again, lifted the hearts of everyone present, Gavin most of all.

Unfortunately, Caful reunion with his family wasn't quite so joyful. During the time he had been gone, his wife had met another hedgehog and remarried, convinced that he had been dead. She had a child with her new husband, and Caful's son, who had grown into a fine young boy, had never known him, being only an infant when he disappeared and therefore thought of his father like a stranger, his stepfather being the one who had raised him. At first, Caful had been on the verge of starting a fight with the new hedgehog, but his former wife's pleading had wisely convinced him to calm down, and she and her husband had taken him aside to talk things over.

Although he had really done all he came here for, Gavin wanted to remain in Torn awhile for a little rest. Altidor probably wouldn't arrive for some time yet, and considering what he and his beasts had been forced to do the day before, he figured it wasn't too much to ask for the bird to wait a little. He told his troops to be at ease and meet him back at the road in one hour, while he walked off to be alone with his thoughts for awhile.

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Gavin was sitting under the shade of a large oak that stood at edge of the village, deep in thought. He pondered about the previous day's events, about how they would continue with all these exchanges (they would need far more troops and a more efficient system for transporting and holding the rats, if this whole project was to succeed), about the rats who were probably still on the ships by now, about the future, both his own and the lands', and generally just attempting to work out the complications and issues that were troubling his life at the moment while trying to enjoy the beauty of the landscape bathed by the midday sun.

In his paws, he held the flute that he'd picked up from the body of Kopec, idly turning it around in his grip for no reason other than to find something to occupy himself with. He had never learned to play an instrument, and even if he did he had yet to clean it after taking it from the dead rat. But even so, he didn't want the wooden flute to lie buried and forgotten with its previous owner; maybe by carrying it with him, something of the rat who had died that fateful evening would live on, in some sense…

Torn was built on top of a cluster of small hills, and as such provided a wonderful view of the surrounding landscape. The shrew admired the view of the woods, fields and meadows stretching for miles in front of him. At the horizon, he could see the sea as a thin blue line. Everything looked so calm and peaceful. It was difficult to believe that these beautiful lands would soon undergo such drastic, and violent, changes.

As he was enjoying the view, he noticed that Caful was walking towards him, his shoulders slumped and his eyes downcast. He put away the flute and turned to the embittered beast.

"Do you mind if I sit here beside you?" the hedgehog asked.

"No, not at all, my friend," Gavin answered. "I have to get back to my comrades soon to return to River's End but I certainly have time for a little company."

Caful rested his spiky backside on the ground and leaned his gaunt frame against the oak, same as his shrew companion. He gazed at the landscape with a mixture of bitterness, sadness and resigned acceptance on his face. Finding the silence a little uncomfortable, Gavin asked: "So, how are ye doing?"

"Well, my damn wife has remarried."

The shrew gave him a sympathetic look: "I heard. I'm sorry, Caful."

"Well, how can I blame her? I've been gone for ten seasons, she hasn't heard anything from me, no sign that I'm still alive, she feels lonely and has a kid to take care of… of course she's gonna find someone else. It's just selfish of me to demand that I should be the only one in her life, even though I haven't been there for her for so long."

Gavin was sure he could see tears starting to well up in the hedgehog's eyes.

"It's just that… I've hoped and prayed for this moment for so long, that I would see my family again, when I was free of that awful place the searats made me work in. I never stopped to consider that Kathrin would have a life without me, that she had no reason to think I was alive… It just feels like I went through all that for nothing…"

A tear trickled down his cheek, and the shrew put a comforting paw on his friend's shoulder, similar to the one he'd given after telling him of his new freedom. He wished he had something to say, but he couldn't think of anything that would be of comfort to Caful.

The hedgehog wiped away his tears and leaned back against the oak. "Still, I have talked a little with my son. He doesn't remember me, but he knows what I've been through and how much I've longed to meet him. We have agreed to see each other a little over the next few weeks and see if we can build up some sort of relationship. I might even get to meet the little girl of Kathrin's husband – Gilles is his name – and become friends with her too. The vole family that were reunited today has allowed me to stay at their home until I can find a more permanent place to live, so I will be close to my family."

He turned his head towards the shrew, and his look went from sad to friendly and grateful.

"And whatever happens, I'm a free beast now. I can do what I want with my life. If it hadn't been for you, and Urthblood, I would never have met my wife and son at all. I will be grateful to you every day for the rest of my life."

Gavin smiled at the hedgehog, and then they both leaned back against the tree to look at the lands of Mossflower a little while longer.

However, Caful soon remembered something and turned to ask his friend: "Gavin, I heard from some of the beasts here that there had been rats living in Torn until yesterday, when a patrol of your soldiers came and ordered them to leave to make way for the slaves that would come and settle here. They were told to follow the squirrels and shrews to a "new home" that had been prepared for them. Is this true?"

Gavin looked at the hedgehog for awhile, and then gave a small nod.

"Yes, it is."

Caful gave the shrew a deep, hard look.

"Those rats you sent away… it wasn't as simple as the soldiers made it out to be, was it? There's something else going on here, isn't there? Some other reason you didn't want us coming here yesterday?"

The shrew knew that he really shouldn't tell this yet, that it was best if the news of their true activities didn't spread too quickly. But the hedgehog already realized something was up, and he was going to find out about it soon anyway.

He lowered his eyes, and responded: "Caful, the treaty Urthblood made with Tratton didn't just call for the release of the slaves. It also stated that all the rats of the lands where to be given to him in exchange. We weren't just sent here to escort you to new homes; we came here to take the rats of Conwyn, Torn and Gleamshire back to the searat ships to transport them to Terramort. Eventually all the rats living in the lands are to be sent to the isles of their seaborne cousins. A realm of woodlanders for the lands, and a realm of rats for the seas - that was the true purpose of the treaty."

At first, Caful didn't say anything. Then he broke the silence by uttering a single word:

"Good!"

The shrew looked up, surprised. The hedgehog's gaze had suddenly turned cold and hateful.

"It's wonderful that they're being sent away! I know what rats are like; I suffered under their paws for ten seasons, and so did countless other beasts. They're vile, sadistic and evil creatures who care for nothing but tyrannizing and enslaving others. If they had remained here among the goodbeasts of the lands, there's no telling what misery they would have wrought. If Urthblood's treaty makes sure we get rid of them, I'm doubly grateful to him!"

He leaned back against the oak once more, crossing his paws with a contemptuous scowl.

"Mark my words, Gavin: the sooner Mossflower is free of that scum, the better!"

Gavin looked at his friend for awhile. Then he turned his gaze once again across the beautiful landscape, a sad, thoughtful little smile appearing on his face.

"Perhaps…perhaps…"

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_Well, I hope you liked this little story, despite it's faults. Like I've said, I'm rather fond of it. Hopefully it will give you some small continuation for TSW while we wait for Urthblood III._

_The part with Caful's wife having remarried was an attempt on my part to show a hedgehog character as being a little more conflicted than we usually see them. They, along with moles, often seem to be the most "untroubled" of the various woodlander species: no dark backstories, no inner conflicts, no truly negative personality traits etc. I wanted to present one of them as going through a personal crisis for a change._

_Thank you all for your kind reviews, and I hope to see you all again in the near future!_


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